Today should produce a tantalizing matchup as the improving Vegas Golden Knights go up against the surging Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.
Really struggling to establish much of an identity during the first-half of the 2019-20 NHL regular season, the Vegas Golden Knights have really come out swinging after the All-Star Break.
They have won consecutive games and are starting to show tantalizing signs of improvement under new Head Coach Peter DeBoer.
The toughest test lies ahead, however, given that Vegas has the ninth toughest remaining schedule in the NHL.
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And it starts this month with the Golden Knights facing the daunting task of having to navigate a hellish slate of games in February.
The first of many litmus tests come today in the form of the Tampa Bay Lightning who are absolutely rolling right now.
They have truly woken from their early season slumber and are now 15-2-1 in their last 18 games, while they are also 8-0-0 against Pacific Division teams this season.
The Lightning are now operating at the peak of their powers and they are getting it done thanks to a plethora of offensive firepower and their elite special teams.
Tampa rank 5th in the National Hockey League in Goals For Per Game (3.58), while they are operating at a clip of 25.3, ranked for 3rd best in the NHL.
The penalty kill is also getting the job done at a high level (83.6) and the PK is currently the 4th best in the league.
Tampa Bay is also getting elite goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is 26-9-3 this year with a 2.55 Goals Against Average and a .917 Save Percentage.
Nikita Kucherov, who went through his fair share of struggles in the early stages of the regular season, has finally settled into a groove and the Russian stud leads the Lightning in points with 61 (24 goals, 87 assists).
Elite defenseman Victor Hedman really helps the Lightning go and he is fourth on the team in points with 42 (nine goals, 33 assists).
All in all, the Tampa Bay Lightning are a real dangerous monster right now and they appear to be hitting their stride at just the right time.
For the Vegas Golden Knights, they will be without Cody Glass (upper-body) and William Karlsson (upper-body).
They will stick with the same lineup that shutout the Nashville Predators on Saturday, which means that Marc-Andre Fleury will get his second consecutive start between the pipes.
The Knights have dramatically improved on the PK as of late under Peter DeBoer, including going a perfect 5-for-5 against Nashville on Saturday.
They have the 17th ranked penalty kill (79.8) in the National Hockey League, and the 9th best power play (21.6).
Head-To-Head
The Vegas Golden Knights could improve to 4-1-0 all-time against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a win this afternoon.
They went 1-1-0 against Tampa last year, although the Lightning are 8-0-0 against teams in the Pacific Division this year, and they have also won 11 in a row over teams from the Pacific.
Projected Lineups
Let’s look at today’s Starting Lineups, per nhl.com:
Vegas Golden Knights
Jonathan Marchessault – Paul Stastny – Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty – Chandler Stephenson – Mark Stone
William Carrier – Cody Eakin – Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek – Nicolas Roy – Ryan Reaves
Jon Merrill – Zach Whitecloud
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched: Deryk Engelland
Injured: William Karlsson (upper body), Cody Glass (lower body)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Steven Stamkos – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat – Anthony Cirelli – Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn – Cedric Paquette – Pat Maroon
Carter Verhaeghe – Mitchell Stephens – Yanni Gourde
Victor Hedman – Jan Rutta
Mikhail Sergachev – Kevin Shattenkirk
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Scratched: Luke Schenn, Braydon Coburn
Game Info
Here is all the essential information you need to know prior to faceoff…
Time: 4:00 p.m. PT
Where: Amalie Arena – Tampa Bay
TV Broadcast: AT&T Sportsnet
Radio: FOX Sports 98.9/1340
Live Streaming: ESPN+ has a free 7-day trial that includes live streaming for this game on all your smart devices! Besides NHL games, ESPN+ features a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup, and EFL. Get in on the action with Live UFC Fight Nights, 30+ Top Rank Boxing cards, Grand Slam tennis from Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open.
Finishing Off
This is a real litmus test for the Vegas Golden Knights who will be pitting their wits against one of the most elite teams in the National Hockey League.
Given that the Tampa Bay Lightning are starting to hit the peak of their powers too, we should learn a lot about just how far the Golden Knights have come under Head Coach Peter DeBoer.