Jets at Lightning
Every time things seemed to be slipping or another injury had put an obstacle in front of them this season, the Tampa Bay Lightning responded. The Lightning look to provide another answer, most likely without top defenseman Victor Hedman, when the inconsistent Winnipeg Jets pay a visit on Saturday. Tampa Bay rebounded from being shut out in consecutive games to score a 3-1 win over Ottawa on Thursday after Hedman went down with a lower-body injury in the first period.
Lightning captain Martin St. Louis was rejuvenated after being moved to a line with rookies Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson on Thursday, scoring two goals. Meanwhile, the Jets continue to try and put together a streak to get back into contention. “Nobody likes to be .500,” Jets forward Devin Setoguchi told the Winnipeg Free Press. “Being mediocre in this league is not going to get you anywhere. It’s not going to get you in the playoffs. We need to be better.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE JETS (13-13-4): Winnipeg started its six-game road trip with a pair of victories but has dropped two of its last three, including a disappointing 5-2 loss at Florida on Thursday. Coach Claude Noel said his team did not play intelligently and did not look engaged in its last contest after a solid effort against the New York Rangers. Bryan Little leads Winnipeg with 27 points – 19 in his last 18 games – while Evander Kane has one goal in his last 14 contests and could miss his third straight with a lower-body injury.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (17-10-1): Keith Aulie is out indefinitely after breaking his hand Thursday and Hedman likely is lost for a week while fellow defensemen Eric Brewer and Radko Gudas could return against the Jets. The Lightning still have Ben Bishop, who is putting up Vezina Trophy-worthy numbers with a 1.98 goals-against average and .934 save percentage. Johnson has recorded seven points and is plus-5 in 11 games since star center Steven Stamkos suffered a broken tibia.
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg is 0-for-15 on the power play over its last six games, dropping to last in the league at 11.1 percent, while Tampa Bay is 1-for-23 over its last seven contests.
2. Tampa Bay C Valtteri Filppula has collected 17 points in 14 games at home.
3. Jets D Zach Bogosian leads the team with a plus-8 rating after combining for a minus-53 over the last four seasons.