Lightning at Red Wings
One day after beginning their five-game road trip with a shutout victory, the Tampa Bay Lightning continue it Tuesday against a team that was blanked in its last contest in the Atlantic Division-rival Detroit Red Wings. Tampa Bay continued its recent mastery of the New York Islanders with a 4-0 triumph Monday, outscoring the club 14-2 while sweeping the three-game season series in a span of two weeks.
Captain Steven Stamkos has recorded five points in his last three games to raise his team-leading total to 19 - one more than Nikita Kucherov, who has scored five goals in his last seven contests. Detroit's bid for a third straight victory was squashed by Montreal, which posted a 5-0 victory over its Original Six rival Saturday. Dylan Larkin scored only one goal in his last five games but still tops the Red Wings with five but has notched only one assist in 16 contests. Gustav Nyquist, who shares the team lead in scoring with 10 points, hasn't netted a goal in 10 contests with three assists during that span.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (9-6-1): Tampa Bay once again could be without Jonathan Drouin (six games) and defenseman Anton Stralman (one), who are suffering from upper-body injuries. Drouin, who took a hit to the head from Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan on Nov. 1, has been skating and could return during the road trip. The Lightning will be completing the second of their 16 back-to-back sets this season after losing both ends of their first Oct. 29 (New Jersey) and 30 (New York Rangers).
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (8-7-1): Defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who has been dealing with chronic knee issues this season, is expected to sit out Tuesday's contest after playing just over 15 1/2 minutes against Montreal in order to remain as strong as possible. "I want him to play as many healthy games where he feels as good as possible," coach Jeff Blashill told the team's website. "This is a four-day break that's hard to get during the year. He's only going to miss one game. It's something we got to make sure to do a good job managing." Thomas Vanek, who ranks fourth on the team with eight points despite missing the last nine games with a hip injury, has been skating for several days and is eligible to be activated from long-term injured reserve Friday.
OVERTIME
1. Lightning G Ben Bishop will be in net Tuesday hoping to halt his personal two-game skid.
2. Detroit RW Anthony Mantha made his season debut Saturday and led the team's forwards with 18 minutes, 58 seconds of ice time.
3. Tampa Bay recalled D Luke Witkowski from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Monday, but the 26-year-old was a healthy scratch against New York.