Canucks at Lightning
The Vancouver Canucks look to go into the All-Star break with four consecutive victories when they visit to Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday to end a five-game road trip. The Canucks allowed one goal combined in the last three games after edging Florida 2-1 on Monday and will be tested by the highest-scoring team in the league. All-Star forwards Tyler Johnson (48 points) and captain Steven Stamkos (26 goals, six in seven games) lead the Lightning, who have won nine of their last 12 contests.
Vancouver must deal with the line of Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, which has 127 points and the members all in the top 10 of the league in plus/minus rating. The Canucks counter with the productive trio of Daniel Sedin (39 points), captain Henrik Sedin (38) and former Tampa Bay wing Radim Vrbata (team-high 18 goals). The Lightning have earned at least a point in the last six games (5-0-1) against the Canucks, including a 4-2 victory at Vancouver on Oct. 18.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, SNET-Pacific (Vancouver), Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (26-15-3): Ryan Miller (23 wins) has been in net for the last three contests, stopping 81-of-82 shots, and could play his fourth game in six nights if he gets the start against Tampa Bay. Defenseman Dan Hamhuis, who missed almost two months with a leg injury before returning Friday versus Carolina, has an assist and a plus-2 rating the last two games to help Miller. Right wing Brad Richardson (19 points), missed the Florida game with an undisclosed injury and is questionable.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (29-14-4): Top-six defenseman Matt Carle will undergo surgery to repair torn adductor muscles in his lower abdomen and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. The Lightning were already down a regular blue-liner with Radko Gudas out of the season and will go with youngsters Mark Barberio, Nikita Nesterov or Luke Witkowski in the bottom two spots for now. Tampa Bay will lean on the solid goaltending of Ben Bishop, who boasts 23 wins while stopping 70-of-74 shots to win his last two.
OVERTIME
1. The Lightning are 18-4-1 at Amalie Arena – tied with Nashville (18-2-1) and St. Louis (18-4-2) for the most wins in the league on home ice.
2. Vancouver has killed 36-of-39 power plays in the last 11 games and stands second in the league at 87.9 percent.
3. Tampa Bay D Jason Garrison, who played the previous two seasons with Vancouver, has 18 points and a plus-11 rating – second on the team among blue-liners.