Devils at Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning continue their pursuit of the top spot in the Atlantic Division when they host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. Tampa Bay, which resides two points behind first-place Montreal, has found the going tough against New Jersey - suffering a 2-1 setback at home on Oct. 14 and dropping a 3-2 decision in a shootout on the road on Dec. 19.
Steven Stamkos tallied in the last encounter and has scored 13 goals and set up 10 others in 23 career meetings with the Devils. The young superstar snapped a seven-game goalless drought on Saturday by collecting two tallies and an assist in Tampa Bay's 4-0 victory over Florida. "I knew if I kept working hard that things were eventually going to go in," Stamkos said. "So I just tried to shoot the puck a little more today and got some nice passes, and those ones go in." New Jersey hasn't been as fortunate, mustering just 12 goals during a 1-6-2 stretch as it plays out the string for the third straight season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New Jersey), Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (32-35-13): Cory Schneider finished with 36 saves on Tuesday but saw his winless streak extend to a career-worst seven games (0-5-2) with a 4-2 setback to the New York Rangers. The 29-year-old turned aside 26 shots in his lone meeting with Tampa Bay in October. Patrik Elias, who scored against the Rangers, also tallied in the third round of the shootout in the last matchup against the Lightning.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (48-24-8): Tampa Bay already has clinched home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs, and overtaking the Canadiens would do the same for the second round. Ben Bishop finished with 34 saves Saturday to record his fourth shutout of the season and eclipse his own team record with his career-best 38th victory. The 28-year-old Bishop is playing his best with the postseason on the horizon, posting an 11-3-2 record with three shutouts and a stingy 1.93 goals-against average in his last 16 outings.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay owns a 24-7-2 record this season when Stamkos scores a goal.
2. New Jersey RW Steve Bernier collected a goal and an assist on Tuesday, matching his total for both in his previous eight games.
3. The Lightning have netted one power-play goal in four consecutive contests.