Lightning at Oilers
The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to find answers on both sides of the ice as they look to extend a five-game winning streak on the road against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. Goalie Ben Bishop has gained a point in his last 10 games (8-0-2) and leads the league in save percentage (.936) with four shutouts while the Lightning rookies have combined for a league-best 88 points. Edmonton won only two of its last 12 games, dropping to the bottom of the Western Conference.
The Lightning finished 27th in goals against last season and is fourth in the first half of this campaign, getting smart play to go with strong goaltending. Coach Jon Cooper said he’s seen the team grow from an offensive-minded group to one that “says you better get more than two goals on us to beat us.” Tampa Bay will be tested by a very capable Oilers offense, led by Taylor Hall.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, RDS2, SNET-West (Edmonton), SunSports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (25-12-4): Ondrej Palat, a seventh-round pick in 2011 who started his pro career as a healthy scratch in the minors, is working on a career-high five-game point streak for Tampa Bay. Palat had a goal and assist in the 2-0 victory over Calgary on Friday and has 18 points and a plus-11 rating, tied for second on the team. The Lightning have been dressing seven defensemen most games of late and could get veteran blue-liner Sami Salo back from an upper-body injury soon.
ABOUT THE OILERS (13-26-5): Right wing Jordan Eberle, who is tied for second on the team in scoring with 33 points, missed Friday’s 5-2 loss at Anaheim with a knee injury and his status is uncertain. Hall leads the team with 39 points while David Perron boasts 33 and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 31, but the Oilers stand last in the league in goals-against (3.43). Nail Yakupov, the first overall pick in the 2012 draft, scored a goal in each of his last two games after being a healthy scratch but has a minus-25 rating overall.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay RW Nikita Kucherov, 20, has scored in both contests since changing from No. 56 to No. 86 and boasts five overall in his first 18 NHL games.
2. Edmonton RW Ales Hemsky collected only two points in his last 12 games and his goal drought has reached 13 contests.
3. Lightning captain Martin St. Louis, who leads the team with 38 points, does not have a one in his last three outings but had six shots on goal at Calgary.