Lightning at Red Wings
Two teams that opened the season with three straight victories before struggling for the rest of October attempt to build off wins in their last game as the Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. The Lightning snapped a four-game winless streak with a 4-3 triumph at Carolina on Sunday while Detroit won at Ottawa on Saturday after a befuddling 1-5-1 stretch.
Tampa Bay, which led the league in scoring a season ago before beating the Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs, managed only two goals during its 0-3-1 slump. “You could feel our swag coming back during the game,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters after Sunday’s victory. “It was really good to see. We kind of lost that a little bit in the last week and a half.” Detroit, which beat Tampa Bay 3-1 on Oct. 13, looks to end a three-game losing streak on home ice - where it will play four of the next five contests. Captain Henrik Zetterberg has notched at least one point in nine of his 11 games this season for the injury-plagued Red Wings.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Tampa Bay), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (6-5-2): Cooper moved Ondrej Palat to a line with captain Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan to start the second period Monday, and the trio immediately produced a goal. Alex Killorn took Palat’s spot on the line with Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson, who netted his first goal of the season in the third period. Forwards Cedric Paquette (foot) and Jonathan Drouin (lower body) remain questionable, but both aren’t expected to be out long term, while power forward Tye McGinn took a spot in the lineup against Carolina.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (5-5-1): Zetterberg reached 800 points and 500 assists (now 501) in his career Saturday, and his next goal will be No. 300. Gustav Nyquist (six points in six games) and Tomas Tatar (three goals in six games) have picked up their production of late, but fellow forward Justin Abelkader has gone nine contests without a point after collecting five in his first two games. Defensemen Mike Green and Kyle Quincey could return soon, while the team hopes to get back forwards Brad Richards and Pavel Datsyuk from injuries later this month.
OVERTIME
1. Detroit’s 19-year-old rookie C Dylan Larkin has recorded eight points and leads the team with a plus-9 rating in the first 11 games.
2. The Lightning have recorded a power-play goal in three consecutive games for the first time this season.
3. Red Wings LW Drew Miller is slated to play his 500th NHL game Tuesday – including 14 with Tampa Bay in 2009-10.