Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
The Tampa Bay Lightning face the Seattle Kraken with both teams looking to build off of great seasons. The Lightning have a 27-13-1 record and with three wins in a row have leaped into third place in the Atlantic Division. The Kraken have a 26-12-4 record and with eight wins in a row have leaped into second place in the Pacific Division. Both teams look to remain near the top of their divisions and the upcoming game should be a great one as a result.
The Lightning are having a great season with their offense leading the way, scoring 3.59 goals per game including 15 goals in the last three games. Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Brayden Point have scored 60 goals and 95 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Brandon Hagel, Nick Paul, and Alex Killorn have combined for 45 goals and 43 assists while defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Victor Hedman have added seven goals and 51 assists from the point to put the offense over the top.
The offense has carried the Lightning but the defense has also stepped up, allowing only 2.93 goals per game. Victor Hedman and Ian Cole have combined for 4.8 defensive point shares and 132 blocked shots while Mikhail Sergachev, Nicklaus Perbix, and Erik Cernak have combined for 5.1 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. In addition, goaltender Andrei Vasilevsk iy has been great with a .917 save percentage and a 2.50 goals-against average on 907 shots.