Vancouver Canucks (17-20-3, sixth in the Pacific Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (25-13-1, third in the Atlantic Division)
Tampa, Florida; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Vancouver Canucks after Nikita Kucherov scored two goals in the Lightning's 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Tampa Bay has gone 16-4-1 in home games and 25-13-1 overall. The Lightning rank 10th in league play with 138 total goals (averaging 3.5 per game).
Vancouver has a 9-10-2 record on the road and a 17-20-3 record overall. The Canucks have a -21 scoring differential, with 136 total goals scored and 157 given up.
Thursday's game is the first time these teams square off this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kucherov has 16 goals and 42 assists for the Lightning. Brayden Point has scored seven goals and added two assists over the last 10 games.
Andrei Kuzmenko has scored 17 goals with 18 assists for the Canucks. Bo Horvat has seven goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 6-4-0, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.2 assists, 4.7 penalties and 10.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
Canucks: 4-6-0, averaging 3.5 goals, 6.4 assists, three penalties and 6.3 penalty minutes while giving up 3.9 goals per game.
INJURIES: Lightning: Rudolfs Balcers: out (upper-body).
Canucks: Thatcher Demko: out (lower-body), Tanner Pearson: out (hand), Tucker Poolman: out (undisclosed).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
