Lightning ready to roll after break.
?Tonight in Dallas, the Lightning will begin in its drive for a playoff spot. Not much has changed in the last week as the Lightning are still 6 points out of a wildcard spot and 7 points behind Boston in the division for the final playoff spot.
With 26 games left in the season, the Lightning must find a way to get to 95 points which will be the minimum amount of points needed to secure a playoff spot. If my math is correct thats 19 wins needed for 38 points the rest of the way, with only seven losses. The margin for error is very tight.
Before the break the Lightning collected 7 points in 8 games. This weekend the Lightning will be in Dallas and Colorado in a back to back Saturday and Sunday, The Stars are struggling for a playoff spot, while the Avalanche are the worst team in the NHL. Should be 4 easy points for the Lightning, but you never know.
Andrei Vasilevisky will be in goal tonight in Dallas. Somewhere down the stretch the Lightning are going to have to decide if Ben Bishop or Andrei Vasilevskiy will be the no.1 goalie. No team has ever won the Stanley Cup without a number one goalie. Ben Bishop is still being talked about in trade rumors around the league. Also, the name of Brian Boyle has suddenly come up in trade talk rumors. The NHL trade deadlne is February 28th.
Tyler Johnson will be back in the lineup tonight after missing the last 2 games with a lower body injury. The Lightning will need Tyler Johnson to be the Tyler Johnson of old if the Lightning are to bust through into the playoffs.
Steven Stamkos continues to rehab from his knee injury, but is till at least one month away. When Stamkos does come back he will not be 100 percent. The medical experts are saying it may be December before Stamkos is at 100 percent.
So, the stretch run is here. A lot to play out in the next 8 weeks. Buckle your seat belt. It is going to a wild bumpy road.
