Lightning at Ducks
The injury-plagued Anaheim Ducks look to snap out of a mini-slump when they host the high-scoring Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night. Goalie Frederik Andersen (neck), 21-goal scorer Matt Beleskey (upper body) and talented young defenseman Sam Vatanen (lower body) are all out for the Ducks as they try to turn it around following a 1-3-1 slide. The Lightning knocked off Anaheim 5-3 on Feb. 8 at home and have earned points in eight straight contests against the Ducks (4-0-4).
Tampa Bay defeated San Jose on Sunday before dropping a 3-2 decision at Los Angeles the next night and is 3-3-2 this month – all against Western Conference teams. The Lightning lead the NHL in goals and have three 50-point scorers after Nikita Kucherov notched an assist Monday to join captain Steven Stamkos (53) and Tyler Johnson (55). Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf is due after going three games without a point since recording two against Tampa Bay.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Tampa Bay), Prime (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (35-18-6): Tampa Bay produced a strong effort Monday, but could not build a big enough lead to hold off the Kings in the second of a back-to-back set. “I thought we played a pretty good game,” Johnson told reporters. “It’s just unfortunate that the mistakes we did make, they capitalized on.” Johnson netted his 21st goal on Monday to tie Kucherov for second on the team behind Stamkos (30) and rookie defenseman Nikita Nesterov notched the first of his career, playing in place of Mark Barberio.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (35-15-7): In addition to Getzlaf’s mini slump, center Ryan Kesler has gone four games without a point, but most of Anaheim’s problems have been on the other side of the ice while allowing 35 goals in the last nine games. It won’t help that Vatanen is expected to miss 4-6 weeks and Andersen is likely a few more games away from a return while Beleskey could be out 2-4 weeks. Corey Perry has tallied five times in the last seven games – one Sunday - and leads the team with a plus-16 rating.
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim F Andrew Cogliano registered a pair of goals Sunday after producing only two over the previous 24 contests.
2. Despite giving up a pair of goals Monday, the Lightning have outscored opponents 73-50 in the third period this season.
3. The Ducks have allowed five power-play goals in their last three outings and Tampa Bay is 3-of-35 with the man advantage over a 12-game span.