Lines from Tuesday's morning skate. Subject to change.
Forwards
Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - Steven Stamkos
Patrick Maroon - Cedric Paquette - Mitchell Stephens
Yanni Gourde - Tyler Johnson - Carter Verhaeghe
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Luke Schenn
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev - Kevin Shattenkirk
Braydon Coburn
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy expected to start
Tuesday's Matchup
The Lightning and the Sabres are playing the final game of their four-game regular season series...Tampa Bay is attempting to sweep the season series from Buffalo for the second time in franchise history (also: 4-0-0 in 2016-17)...The Lightning have won all three previous meetings with Buffalo this season...The Bolts swept a back-to-back set against the Sabres at the 2019 NHL Global Series in Stockholm, Sweden, winning 3-2 Nov. 8 behind Yanni Gourde's game-winning goal at 7:45 of the third period and following up with a 5-3 win Nov. 9, Pat Maroon scoring a pair of goals for his first multi-goal game with the Bolts (9th career) and Curtis McElhinney matching a season-high with 40 saves...Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo 5-2 at AMALIE Arena in the teams' last meeting Nov. 25, the Bolts scoring four-consecutive goals, including two shorthanded in the third period, after falling behind 2-1...Tampa Bay has won six in a row against Buffalo, its last loss to the Sabres coming Nov. 13, 2018 in Buffalo...Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Lightning are 22- 4-2 overall versus Buffalo...Yanni Gourde has scored a goal in all three previous meetings with Buffalo this season and leads the Bolts for goals (3) against the Sabres this season...Cedric Paquette (1-3--4), Pat Maroon (2-2--4), Kevin Shattenkirk (0-4--4) and Yanni Gourde (3-1--4) pace the Bolts for scoring this season vs. BUF...Tyler Johnson has more career assists vs. BUF (14) than he does against any other NHL team...Nikita Kucherov is on a six-game point streak vs. BUF (5-4--9)...Cedric Paquette has points in three- straight games vs. BUF (1-3--4)...Pat Maroon has points in five-straight games vs. BUF (4-2--6)...Kevin Shattenkirk has points in four- straight games vs. BUF (0-5--5)...Andrei Vasilevskiy is 7-0-1 over his last eight starts vs. BUF.
Tuesday's Storylines
The Lightning are playing the fifth game of eight-straight games against Eastern Conference opponents and the fourth game of six- consecutive contests against Atlantic Division foes...Tampa Bay has won 11 in a row against Atlantic opponents after starting the season 2-2-0 vs. the division...The Lightning are aiming for their fourth-consecutive win, which would be their longest win streak of the season...The Bolts are 3-1-1 in their last five road games...Tampa Bay is tied with Edmonton for the NHL lead for power-play percentage (29.3%)...The Lightning rank fourth in the League for goals per game (3.51)...The Bolts are tied with Florida for the fewest road games played (16) in the NHL.
Injuries
2019-20 Man Games Lost: 41
Current injuries
None
Tampa Bay Sports Item of the Game
Lightning 2019-20 Year Book
Commemorate this year's team with the Lightning 2019-20 Yearbook. Available in store and online at TampaBaySports.com for $10 or free with the purchase of $50 or more.
The Road Ahead
Thursday, January 2 at Montreal Canadiens
Saturday, January 4 at Ottawa Senators
Sunday, January 5 at Carolina Hurricanes
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