TV: FOX Sports Sun
Time: Pregame protection begins at 7:30 p.m.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Tampa Bay Lightning tackle the Anaheim Geese on Sunday evening after having ravaged the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings by a cumulative 10-Three rating this week.Clearly, the Lightning (13-2-2) haven't any worry of the California gauntlet which has destroyed different East Coast groups taking the West Coast swing over the previous a number of seasons.
The crew is having fun with its finest 17-game begin with 28 factors. Tampa Bay’s earlier finest got here in its Stanley Cup-winning 2003-04 season, when it earned 26 factors via 17 video games. The Lightning have received 5 straight street video games.
“It’s nice. We performed in opposition to actually good groups and that was an excellent take a look at for us,” stated Kucherov after beating the Kings. “They’re massive, they’re quick and so they play a extremely good sport. We did an excellent job.”
The Geese (7-6-Three) don’t equal Tampa Bay in offensive manufacturing. Anaheim’s prime two scorers, Rickard Rakell (6-Eight-14) and Corey Perry (Three-7-10), have 24 factors mixed. The Geese have three gamers with 10 or extra factors — Rakell, Perry and Andrew Cogliano (Three-7-10).
The Lightning function 9 gamers with 10 or extra factors every. On Thursday versus the Kings, 10 Tampa Bay gamers hit and scoresheet and 5 totally different gamers scored objectives in a 5-2 win.
Tampa Bay’s transition sport defies opposition. It took the Lightning eight seconds to go from their very own purpose line to seeing the puck sail into the Kings’ internet Thursday evening.
Indicators level to the Geese awakening offensively. Anaheim has gained factors within the final three video games. The crew got here again from an early one-goal deficit to beat Vancouver. Three Geese’ objectives in Thursday’s Four-1 win got here on the ability play. Anaheim had scored solely 5 power-play objectives this season previous to that sport.
“It’s been a protracted look ahead to our energy play to awaken,” Coach Randy Carlyle stated after the sport. “I believe tonight we have been extra decided to get pucks again on our entry. We moved the puck successfully and bought the puck in the direction of the web. We have been extra tenacious and hungry for the puck.”
Anaheim exhibited scoring depth in opposition to Vancouver. The Geese bought two objectives from the protection and two from Jacob Silfverberg within the win. Silfverberg scored his two objectives 35 seconds aside early within the third interval.
The Geese are resilient. Common beginning goaltender John Gibson was compelled out of Tuesday’s sport versus Los Angeles when he was struck by a teammate’s stick. On Thursday, Anaheim added Ryan Miller to its listing of wounded gamers after the netminder suffered a possible groin damage in his 13-save win over the Canucks. He left within the third interval and Reto Berra completed out the sport.
Gibson practiced Friday and Saturday and proclaimed, “All the things is nice now.” He'll begin in opposition to the Lightning.
Tampa Bay involves the sport with resolve.
“We notice that we’ve bought another sport to essentially make this an amazing street journey,” Killorn stated after Thursday’s win. “There’s a ton of confidence on this room. We notice that our prime guys are doing very well. They’re feeding our entire crew.”
Matching velocity in opposition to Tampa Bay, which the Kings have been set to do, shouldn't be a successful technique. The choice, taking part in lock-down protection, shouldn't be Anaheim’s sport.
All the things should go nicely for the Geese to prevail. Doing so, they'll accomplish what groups with a stellar repute (the Sharks) and a stellar report (the Kings) couldn't.
