Lines from Thursday's practice. Subject to change.
Forwards
Tyler Johnson - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat - Steven Stamkos - Alexander Volkov
Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - Mathieu Joseph
Pat Maroon - Cedric Paquette - Yanni Gourde
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Kevin Shattenkirk
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak
Luke Schenn - Mikhail Sergachev
Braydon Coburn - Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney
Friday's Matchup
The Lightning and the Sabres are playing their first of four matchups this season and the first of two at Stockholm's Ericsson Globe as part of the NHL Global Series in Sweden...Tampa Bay finished 3-1-0 against Buffalo in 2018-19, the Lightning winning both games at AMALIE Arena (5-4 win Nov. 29 & 2-1 S/O win Feb. 21) while splitting a pair of games at KeyBank Center (1-2 loss Nov. 13 & 5-3 win Jan. 12)... Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Tampa Bay is 19-4-2 against Buffalo...Nikita Kucherov is on a three-game goal streak vs. BUF and has recorded 3 goals and 3 assists combined in those contests...Tyler Johnson has an assist in two-straight games vs. BUF and has more career assists (14) vs. BUF than he does against any other NHL team...Pat Maroon has scored a goal in two-consecutive games vs. BUF...Victor Hedman has four combined assists in his last three games vs. BUF...Andrei Vasilevskiy has allowed just 16 combined goals in 10 career games vs. BUF and owns an 8-1-1 record with two shutouts, a .944 save percentage and 1.58 goals-against average all-time against the Sabres...Curtis McElhinney has won his last five starts vs. BUF and is 5-3-0 all-time in 10 appearances against the Sabres.
Friday's Storylines
Tampa Bay is playing a regular season game outside North America for the third time in team history...The Lightning started the 2008-09 regular season with a back-to-back set against the NY Rangers at the O2 Arena in Prague Oct. 4-5, 2008 as part of the NHL's Premiere Series, the Bolts losing 2-1 in both the season opener Oct. 4 and the second half of the back-to-back Oct. 5 (each contest hosted 17,085 fans)...The two contests in Prague marked the NHL regular season debut for current Lightning captain Steven Stamkos , who is the only player on Tampa Bay's current roster to play in those games...The 2019 NHL Global Series in Stockholm mark's the League's 33rd and 34th regular season games contested at venues outside North America...A total of 25 franchises have played in these games in six different countries and eight different cities...The city of Stockholm is hosting its 11th and 12th regular season NHL games, the most among all overseas locales...The Lightning boast one Swedish-born player on their current roster, Ornskoldsvik native Victor Hedman... Ryan McDonagh is the only other current Lightning player to skate in a regular season NHL contest outside North America when he took part in the NY Rangers' Premiere Series games against Los Angeles (3-2 OT loss Oct. 7, 2011) and Anaheim (2-1 S/O loss Oct. 8, 2011) at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm.
Injuries
2019-20 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 17
Current injuries:
Victor Hedman (Lower Body; Day-to-Day) 2 Games
Pat Maroon (Upper Body; Day-to-Day) 2 Games
Tampa Bay Sports Item of the Game
Global Series Match-up Tee
Gear up for the Global Series with this Official Event Tee from '47. Available now in store and at TampaBaySports.com.
The Road Ahead
Saturday, November 9 vs. Buffalo Sabres in Stockholm, Sweden
Thursday, November 14 vs. New York Rangers
Saturday, November 16 vs. Winnipeg Jets
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