With so many new players, a new system and Andrei Vasilevkiy on LTIR, the Lightning get to dig deep early in the season and figure out where they stand.
The Bolts are on the road for the first time this season to face three Atlantic Division opponents in Detroit, Ottawa and Buffalo. Each year, teams at the bottom of the division continue to get younger, faster and closer to the playoff window, which has mostly been held by Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay and Florida for the past several years.
We’ve heard many among the league continuously predict this to be the year the Lightning miss that window. Those that bet against the Lightning don’t usually find their predictions to be correct. That said, this is a fairly new team and this road-trip gives them an opportunity to start the season off on the right foot.
With so many new players, a new system and Andrei Vasilevkiy on LTIR, the Lightning get to dig deep early in the season and figure out where they stand.
“Talk about those early tests, this most definitely is one,” Cooper told reporters after practice on Friday.
“In years past you used to go in there thinking you're gonna get some points. Now you're going in, just hoping you're going to get some points. When you look at these teams, we're all so bunched together.”
The Lightning announced they’ll be riding with Jonas Johansson as the starting goaltender with Matt Tomkins rotating in as the schedule permits. Johansson stopped 28 of 31 shots he faced in Tuesday’s opener.
Lightning newcomer, Luke Glendening is coming off a solid start in the season opener.
The 34-year-old played for the Red Wings and Stars before joining the Lightning. One of the reasons he was brought in, is for his ability to win faceoffs.
Over his career, Glendening has won 55.7% of his faceoffs. Last season in Dallas he won 59%. They’ll be relying on him this weekend along with the solid defensive efforts we saw on Tuesday night.
"There’s some teams that have been there before and some teams that want to get there, said Cooper. “It’s dangerous when you have these teams that are just nipping at your heels, so really good test for us.”
The Bolts posted a 2-2-0 record vs. the Red Wings last season. Puck drop is at 7pm.