Lightning at Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks have turned their season around in the past two weeks and will put a six-game point streak to the test when they host the NHL-best Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night. The Canucks were fading away during a 1-10-2 slump, but have found their best form this month during a 5-0-1 run that includes a win over Nashville and a 4-2 victory over red-hot Edmonton on Sunday.
“To see a group go through a lot of adversity and then to see them rebound, it means a lot,” Vancouver coach Travis Green told reporters after his team scored three times on the power play Sunday. “It was as good a game as I’ve seen out of a lot of guys tonight.” The Canucks have earned at least a point in five of the last seven matchups (4-2-1) against the Lightning, including a 4-1 triumph in Tampa Bay on Oct. 11 with four third-period goals. The Lightning saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end with a 5-4 overtime setback at Winnipeg to start a Western Canada trip Sunday, and have allowed 91 shots on net over the last two contests combined. “Two good teams playing,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper told reporters after the Lightning gave up 42 shots against the Jets. “Offensively, we played well enough to win the game. Defensively, we have better in us.”
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Tampa Bay), Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (25-7-2): Right wing Nikita Kucherov goes into his 400th NHL contest Tuesday on a hot streak, recording 30 of his team-high 48 points in the last 16 outings and riding a five-game point streak with goals in the last two. Captain Steven Stamkos is on a nice run as well with nine goals in his last nine games to bring his total to 16 on the season - second on the team behind fellow center Brayden Point (21). J.T. Miller (25 points) registered five assists in his past four games while linemate Alex Killorn scored three times in the same span and has notched six of his eight tallies in his past 11 contests.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (16-16-4): Vancouver had converted just 3-of-30 on the power play during an 11-game stretch before cashing in on three of five chances Sunday, moving up to 19th in the league at 19.1 percent. “We have a lot of sharp shooters out there and a lot of guys who can put the puck in the net, so it was just a matter of time before they started flooding in,” center Bo Horvat told reporters after setting up one of the power-play tallies and scored at even strength Sunday. Rookie center Elias Pettersson has four goals and nine assists during a seven-game point streak and right wing Brock Boeser owns goals in three straight outings.
OVERTIME
1. The Lightning are 7-of-14 on the power play over the last four games and sit second in the league at 30.5 percent overall.
2. Vancouver G Jacob Markstrom allowed six goals combined in the last four games and owns a .937 save percentage while winning five in a row.
3. Tampa Bay D Dan Girardi is slated to play his 900th NHL contest Tuesday and the 34-year-old boasts a plus-77 rating in his career.