Everything you need to know ahead of Tampa Bay's matchup against the Red Wings on Wednesday.
When: Wednesday, December 21 - 7 p.m. ET Where: Little Caesars Arena - Detroit, MI TV coverage: Bally Sports Sun (check local listings) Radio coverage: 102.5 MHz-FM , Lightning Radio 24/7 Where to stream it: BallySports.com Spherical Head Anchor
Projected Lineup (subject to change) Forwards Brandon Hagel - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov Steven Stamkos - Nick Paul - Alex Killorn Ross Colton - Anthony Cirelli - Pat Maroon Vladislav Namestnikov - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Corey Perry
Defensemen Victor Hedman - Nick Perbix Mikhail Sergachev - Zach Bogosian Ian Cole - Erik Cernak
Goaltenders Andrei Vasilevskiy Brian Elliott
Wednesday's Matchup The Lightning and the Red Wings are playing the second of four matchups this season and the first of two meetings at Little Caesars Arena... The Bolts dropped the first matchup of the season with a 4-2 loss Dec. 6 at AMALIE Arena...After a scoreless first period, Michael Rasmussen opened the scoring at the 1:54 mark of the second period before Jonatan Berggren made it 2-0 for DET with 14:01 remaining in regulation... Steven Stamkos pulled the Lightning within one when he blasted a one-timer past Ville Husso at the 14:52 mark of the third with Victor Hedman and Corey Perry picking up the assists...With Tampa Bay's net empty for a sixth attacker, Adam Erne sent a shot the length of the ice that found its way into the net to put DET up 3-1 with 3:38 remaining...Brayden Point got the Bolts back within one when he took a pass from Alex Killorn and beat Husso with a backhand shot at the 17:34 mark of the third as Nikita Kucherov picked up the secondary helper...David Perron sealed the win for DET when he scored an empty-net goal with 25 seconds remaining in regulation...Andrei Vasilevskiy got the start in goal for Tampa Bay and made 22 saves on 24 shots against...The Lightning recorded a season-high 46 shots on goal, including 30 shots in the third period, the most ever recorded in a home period in franchise history...Stamkos has pointed in six consecutive games vs. DET (5-6-11)...Stamkos has picked up points in nine of his last 10 games at DET (7-8-15)...Kucherov has recorded points in 17 of his last 21 games vs. DET (17-18-35)...The Lightning are 36-32-3 with two ties all-time vs. DET, including a road record of 14-18-2 with one tie...Stamkos (20-17-37) holds the Bolts franchise record for career goals vs. DET and is tied with Kucherov (18-19- 37) for the most points.
Wednesday's Storylines Tampa Bay is playing the third game of a four-game road trip tonight...The Bolts will play just five of their 14 games in December on the road...The Lightning are 7-4-0 against Atlantic Division opponents this season...Tampa Bay is 8-6-0 on the road this season and have won four of their last six road contests...The Bolts are playing the second game of their fifth back-to-back set this season and have posted a 2-2-0 record in the second game of the previous four back- to-back sets.
Injuries 2022-23 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 76 Current Injuries: Rudolfs Balcers (Upper-body injury; Out indefinitely) 11 Games
Tampa Bay Sports Item of the Game BOGO Smusherz Need a last-minute kids gift? Wednesday only, buy one Lightning holiday plush Smusherz and get a second one at 50% off. In store only at AMALIE Arena. See store for details.
The Road Ahead Friday, December 23 at Buffalo Sabres Wednesday, December 28 vs. Montreal Canadiens Thursday, December 29 vs. New York Rangers
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