TAMPA | After setbacks in Raleigh and Sunrise, the Canadian will have another imposing rival on his hands with the Tampa Bay Lightning for this last game of 2023.
Historically, CH has no more success in Tampa than in Sunrise. And the Lightning will want to bounce back after two losses in a row.
The Journal offers you five elements to watch out for.
1 – Slow down the slide
Like Sunrise, Tampa is not a welcoming place for the Canadian. Last year, the Habs lost their two games at Amalie Arena. Worse still, CH only has one small victory in its last 10 games (1-7-2) in Tampa.
Defeated in Raleigh and Sunrise, the Canadian will seek to stop his bad streak. Before Christmas, there was talk of a paid trip with a harvest of five points out of a possible six. But the second portion of this long journey of seven games on opposing ice rinks did not begin on a positive note.
2 – Seven defenders and eleven attackers
In the stands for the last two games, Johnathan Kovacevic will be in uniform against the Lightning. With an upper body injury, Christian Dvorak will not play. The CH speaks of an absence to be determined for Dvorak. He will need to undergo testing.
With the absence of Dvorak, Martin St-Louis will have no choice but to rely on a formation with eleven attackers and seven defenders.
“I will need to juggle a little,” said St-Louis. But that’s part of the NHL, we’re not the only team to do that (use seven defensemen and eleven forwards.”
3 – Departure from Montembeault
The game of musical chairs will continue in front of the Canadian’s net. After Cayden Primeau in Raleigh and Jake Allen in Sunrise, Samuel Montembeault will be the starting goalie for this stop in Tampa.
4 – Vasilevskiy at rest
The Lightning still haven’t won since returning from the Christmas break. Jon Cooper’s gang suffered losses of 3 to 2 against the Panthers and 5 to 1 against the Rangers. Both times in Tampa and with Andreï Vasilevskiy in net. With a second game in two evenings, the Lightning will trust Jonas Johansson against CH.
“We won three games in a row before Christmas, but we didn’t play bad hockey in our last two games,” Cooper said during an optional Lightning practice Sunday at Amalie Arena. Our problem is that we dug ourselves holes in the last two games falling behind 2-0 both times. Saturday night we lost 5-1 to the Rangers, but those in the building know that the score was not a good indicator of the game. I hope we get back on track tonight. »
5 – From the great Kucherov
Nikita Kucherov sits atop the NHL in scoring with 59 points (25 goals, 34 assists) in 36 games. He is ahead of Nathan MacKinnon (56 points) and Artemi Panarin (50 points). Author of a 113-point season last year, Kucherov should logically reach the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in his career if he manages to avoid the infirmary.
Photo AFP
“Kuch (Kucherov) plays tremendous hockey,” Cooper said. I’ve never seen him play so well on both sides of the ice. Offensively, he remains an elite player, but he also works very hard. We’re only a few games above .500, but Kuch is one of the reasons we’ve won so many of our games. »
On the blue line, the Lightning will play a fifth game in a row without defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. The former CH first-round pick is sidelined with a lower-body injury. It is evaluated on a daily basis.
The Lightning are 17-15-5 this season. For a rare time, the Florida team finds itself in the heart of a race for a playoff appearance and not near the top of the Eastern Conference.
“It’s not a good thing for the coaches,” Cooper replied with a smile. But our goal remains to participate in the playoffs, no matter what time of year you confirm your place. »