Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Forwards
Ondrej Palat - Steven Stamkos - Mathieu Joseph
Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - Ross Colton
Pat Maroon - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Corey Perry
Boris Katchouk - Riley Nash - Taylor Raddysh
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh - Zach Bogosian
Mikhail Sergachev - Cal Foote
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Tuesday's Matchup
The Lightning and the Golden Knights are playing their first of two meetings this season and the only meeting at T-Mobile Arena...Tampa Bay and Vegas are playing for the first time since Feb. 20, 2020, a 5-3 Golden Knights victory at T-Mobile Arena despite two power-play goals from Steven Stamkos ...That loss ended a franchise-record win streak for the Lightning at 11 victories...Tampa Bay is 1-2-0 all-time at T-Mobile Arena, its only victory coming Oct. 26, 2018, a 3-2 victory carried by Andrei Vasilevskiy's 29-of-31 save performance...Steven Stamkos leads the Lightning for goals, power-play goals and scoring all-time vs. Vegas (4-5--9 pts., 3 PPGs in 6 GP)...Andrei Vasilevskiy has started every game in Lightning franchise history vs. Vegas and owns a 2-3-1 record, .903 save percentage and 3.15 goals-against average.
Tuesday's Storylines
The Lightning close out the pre-Christmas portion of the regular season schedule with a two-game road trip starting tonight in Las Vegas... Tampa Bay was scheduled to begin the road trip Saturday, Dec. 18 in Colorado but that contest was postponed due to COVID concerns with the Avalanche...Tampa Bay is 7-1-0 (.875) in December and ranks tied for first for point percentage in the month with Vancouver, Nashville and Pittsburgh...The Lightning have climbed to second in the NHL overall standings for point percentage (.724) behind only Carolina (.741) and tied for third for points (42)...The Bolts have won four of their last five road games and rank second in the NHL for road point percentage (.714) behind only Carolina (.735)...The Lightning own the NHL's best win percentage when trailing after two periods (.375, 3-4-1) and second best when behind after one period (.571, 4-2-1).
Injuries
2021-22 Reg. Season Man Games Lost: 108
Current injuries
Erik Cernak (Lower-body injury Dec. 4; Week-to-week) 6 Games
Nikita Kucherov (Lower-body injury; Underwent successful procedure Oct. 26; Out 8-10 weeks) 26 Games
Brayden Point (Upper-body injury Nov. 20; Out 4-6 weeks) 13 Games
Gemel Smith (Lower-body injury Sept. 28; Out indefinitely) 29 Games
Tampa Bay Sports Item of the Game
Limited Edition Lightning Holiday Puck
Visit Tampa Bay Sports at AMALIE Arena, to get this Limited Edition Lightning Holiday Collector's Puck and shop for the Lightning Fan on your list. The store is open daily from 12 to 6 PM through December 23rd.
The Road Ahead
Thursday, December 23 at Arizona Coyotes
Tuesday, December 28 at Montreal Canadiens
Thursday, December 30 at Florida Panthers
