Lightning take on the Blue Jackets, look for 4th straight victory
Columbus Blue Jackets (36-36-7, sixth in the Metropolitan) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (49-22-8, third in the Atlantic)
Tampa, Florida; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Tampa Bay will attempt to keep its three-game win streak alive when the Lightning take on Columbus.
The Lightning are 27-15-5 in Eastern Conference games. Tampa Bay ranks eighth in the league averaging 5.9 assists per game, led by Nikita Kucherov with 0.9.
The Blue Jackets are 9-16-0 against opponents from the Metropolitan. Columbus is seventh in the Eastern Conference recording 8.5 points per game, averaging 3.2 goals and 5.4 assists.
In their last matchup on Jan. 4, Tampa Bay won 7-2. Ondrej Palat recorded a team-high 3 points for the Lightning.
TOP PERFORMERS: Steven Stamkos leads the Lightning with 37 goals, adding 60 assists and collecting 97 points. Kucherov has 10 goals and eight assists over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
Jakub Voracek leads the Blue Jackets with 54 total assists and has 59 points. Jack Roslovic has nine goals and two assists over the last 10 games for Columbus.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 6-3-1, averaging 4.5 goals, 7.9 assists, 5.4 penalties and 14.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game with a .915 save percentage.
Blue Jackets: 4-4-2, averaging three goals, 5.5 assists, 3.9 penalties and 8.8 penalty minutes while allowing 2.7 goals per game with a .919 save percentage.
INJURIES: Lightning: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare: day to day (lower body).
Blue Jackets: Joonas Korpisalo: out for season (hip), Patrik Laine: day to day (upper-body), Zach Werenski: day to day (upper-body).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by
