Lightning Strikes: On the Road Again
The Tampa Bay Lightning had a home-and-home series with the Florida Panthers to kick the season off last week. The Lightning won the home game by a score of 5-2, but managed to drop its first road game of the season 4-3. Mike Hoffman had a hat trick for the Panthers in the second game of the home-and-home series. The Lightning ended the first week of the season with a 1-1-0 record, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier this week.
On Sunday, the Bolts travel to North Carolina to take on the Carolina Hurricanes for a 5 p.m. puck drop. The team gets some rest and won’t play its next game until Thursday night when it travels to Toronto to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Lightning end the week in Ottawa on Saturday night to take on the Ottawa Senators.
1) Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 – Lightning at Hurricanes – 5 p.m. ET
The Bolts will take on the Hurricanes on Sunday in an early evening tilt. If the Lightning want to win this game then they will need to control the play in the offensive zone. The team should establish a forecheck early and often to deter the Hurricanes from using its speed. The more time the Bolts spend on offense, then the less time that they will have to spend defending. The Bolts should try to set the tone early in the game by getting a goal and taking the home crowd out of the game. Once they score, the Lightning need to make sure that they keep attacking because the home team doesn’t quit.
If the Hurricanes want a shot at coming out of this game with the two points then they will need to use the speed on this roster to their advantage. The Hurricanes players will want to keep moving their feet and skate so they can force the Lightning into take some penalties. These teams both played on Saturday night so the Hurricanes will want to set the pace in the first 10 minutes of the first period. The other key factors for the Hurricanes to win this game will be to avoid the penalty box and get solid goaltending.
2) Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019 – Lightning at Maple Leafs- 7 p.m. ET
The Bolts play its third divisional game in the team’s four start of the season when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. This game should be a high scoring affair since both teams have a ton of offensive talent on the roster. The Lightning want to play a solid all around defensive game since the Maple Leafs have four lines that can produce. If there’s a chance to get a puck on net, then the Lightning need to take it especially if there is traffic in front. The Bolts should be aware of what they are doing with the puck and play a smart game because the Maple Leafs will take advantage of mistakes.
The Maple Leafs will want to establish its speed early and often in this game. If there is a chance to skate the puck into the Lightning zone with speed then they need to take it. It’s no doubt that this team can score goals, but they will want to avoid bad turnovers and not get into a shootout with the Lightning. It would help for the Leafs to get the first goal of the game and keep attacking from there. If the Maple Leafs can win the even strength battle then there is a really good chance they come away with the two points.
3) Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019 – Lightning @ Senators- 4 p.m. ET
In yet another divisional battle, the Lightning will take on the young Ottawa Senators. The biggest thing that this team needs to avoid is playing down to the level of the Senators. The Bolts want to avoid a slow start and get pucks on net early and often. They can’t get frustrated if the pucks don’t go in early because they will eventually go in against the Senators. The Lightning should come out with energy to start the game so they can establish the forecheck early.
The Senators are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NHL, but the team is still going to try to steal wins against higher ranking opponents. The Senators will establish a physical game from the jump to try to force some Lightning turnovers. The goaltending is going to be the biggest factor in this game for the Senators because if it’s bad then the team has no chance to win the game. The Senators may not be able to keep up with the Lightning at even strength so they should try to use their speed to draw penalties and score some power play goals. The biggest reason the Senators might have a chance at winning this game is avoiding the penalty box while playing smart hockey.
