Game #39: Ducks vs. Lightning Gameday Preview

The Hockey News' Derek Lee previews the Ducks' matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In their first home game in 2025, the Ducks will face the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings last night. The Ducks are 4-4-1 this season against teams playing their second game of a back-to-back (SEGABABA).

The Ducks' three-game winning streak was snapped on Friday by the Edmonton Oilers after they allowed a goal with less than two minutes remaining in the third period. During that three-game stretch, the Ducks had beaten the Oilers, New Jersey Devils, and Winnipeg Jets, an impressive feat.

With a 5 p.m. PST puck drop time and the Lightning on a back-to-back, neither team held a morning skate. The goaltending matchup is expected to be John Gibson versus Jonas Johansson after Lukáš Dostál started against the Oilers on Friday and Andrei Vasilevskiy started last night against the Kings. Gibson is one win away from 200 career wins and is seven wins away from tying Jean-Sébastien Giguère for the most wins by a Ducks goaltender in franchise history.

The Ducks have continued to employ a rotation on the blue line, with one of their young defensemen sitting out. Despite Cam Fowler's departure via trade, the addition of Jacob Trouba has kept the Ducks' defensive logjam status quo, with Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger, and Drew Helleson all taking turns as the healthy scratch.

This logjam will be resolved in the coming months, as the Ducks have begun shopping veteran defenseman and pending unrestricted free agent Brian Dumoulin (per The Fourth Period).

Ducks Projected Lines

Frank Vatrano - Ryan Strome - Troy Terry
Alex Killorn - Leo Carlsson - Brett Leason
Cutter Gauthier - Mason McTavish - Robby Fabbri
Ross Johnston - Isac Lundeström - Jansen Harkins

Jackson LaCombe - Radko Gudas
Olen Zellweger - Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov - Brian Dumoulin

John Gibson (projected)

Lightning Projected Lines

Jake Guentzel - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel - Anthony Cirelli - Conor Geekie
Mitchell Chaffee - Nick Paul - Mikey Eyssimont
Zemgus Girgensons - Luke Glendening - Cam Atkinson

Victor Hedman - Darren Raddysh
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Černák
Emil Lilleberg - Nick Perbix

Jonas Johansson (confirmed)