Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Winnipeg Jets Gameday Preview

The Lightning and Jets are playing the second of two matchups this season.

When: Tuesday, January 2 @ 8 pm EST
Where: Canada Life Centre - Winnipeg, MB
Radio: 102.5 The Bone & Lightning Radio
Where to stream: Bally Sports

Lines from Tuesday's Practice (these could change)

Forwards
Brandon Hagel - Brayden Point - Nick Paul
Steven Stamkos - Anthony Cirelli - Nikita Kucherov
Mikey Eyssimont - Tyler Motte - Alex Barre-Boulet
Tanner Jeannot - Conor Sheary - Austin Watson

Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Nick Perbix
Calvin de Haan - Darren Raddysh
Philippe Myers

Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Heading into the holidays, the Lightning emphasized the importance of the six-game stretch which included five home games and one road game. They were able to win four, which gave them 8 points and brought them right back up to the second wild card spot.

Now they’ll hit the road again to face three tough teams. First up, the Winnipeg Jets.

Defensively, they measure up towards the middle of the league. The problem is, they’re only allowing 49 goals at 5 on 5. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has been solid for the Jets, and the players have been helping him out by limiting the amount of shots that get through. This could make for a difficult matchup tonight for the Lightning as they’ve struggled to score at 5 on 5. 

As for the Lightning, the injury bug is unfortunately hitting them right now. Haydn Fleury was moved to LTIR and Mikhail Sergachev is still out with a lower-body injury. Erik Cernak left the game early against Montreal after taking a big hit into the boards and is now listed as day-to-day. Lightning coach Jon Cooper confirmed they’ll be running with five healthy defenseman. It’s going to be a tough matchup, but sometimes a little desperation goes a long way. Puck drop is at 8pm EST.