Raw Charge
Summary
Time: 7:30 PM Location: UBS Arean, Elmont TV/Stream/Radio: The Spot, MSGSN, ESPN+, 102.5 The Bone Odds: Lightning -170 Know the Opponents: Lighthouse Hockey After a successful homestand the Tampa Bay Lightning head north for two games in New York. First up will be the New York Islanders, and after a two-day break, a rematch with the New York Rangers. The Islanders have alternated wins and losses through their first four games as they look to move up the Metro standings. They are holding their own despite a couple of key injuries. Mathew Barzal is considered day-to-day after suffering a knee injury in training camp, but likely won’t suit up against the Bolts. Defenseman Alexander Romanov, who missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, tore his ACL in a 5-2 loss to the Rangers and is expected to be out 6-8 months. Meanwhile, Bo Horvat is day-to-day after taking a hit to the head from Frank Nazar that led to the Blackhawk forward’s two-game suspension . Horvat is leading the team with five points (four goals, one assist) while late training camp signee Logan Stanley has provided four assists from the blueline. Last year’s Calder Trophy winner, Matthew Schaefer, has three helpers as well. In net, Ilya Sorokin is putting in an early bid for Vezina consideration as he’s posted a 1.01 GAA and .965 SV% in three games. With the team’s middling position in terms of scoring chances and high-danger chances against, they’ve needed his stellar play in net to pull out their two wins. As for the Lightning, it looks like they are going to keep keeping on. With Dominic James in Syracuse for the short term, there is a good chance they are going to roll out the same line-up we’ve seen over their recent winning streak. Their best defense has been keeping the puck out of their own zone. Over the last three games they’ve posted a 63.34% edge in scoring chances and 67.27% edge in high-danger chances. They’ve also held opponents to 49.56 CA/60, the sixth-best number in the league over that stretch. They’ve also spread out the scoring on the season as 11 different players have recorded a goal and 12 players have at least one point. Nikita Kucherov, who took a body maintenance day on Friday, leads the team with six points while seven players have multiple points on the season. Forwards: Gage Goncalves Brayden Point Nikita Kucherov Brandon Hagel Anthony Cirelli Jake Guentzel Pontus Holmberg Zemgus Girgensons Ilya Mikheyev Scott Sabourin Conor Geekie Defense: J.J. Moser John Carlson Ryan McDonagh Erik Cernak Victor Hedman Max Crozier Charle-Edouard D’Astous Goaltenders: Andrei Vasilevskiy Dennis Hildeby New York Islanders Forwards: Emil Heineman Bo Horvat Kyle Palmieri Brayden Schenn Calum Ritchie Victor Eklund Simon Holmstrom Jean-Gabriel Pageau Anthony Duclair Ondrej Palat Casey Cizkas Matias Maccelli Defense: Logan Stanley Matthew Schaeffer Adam Pelech Ryan Pulock Tony Deangelo Scott Mayfield Goaltenders: Ilya Sorokin Semyon Varlamov