Rookies to see increased roles tonight versus Florida

A pair of Tampa Bay Lightning rookies are going to get a heck of an opportunity to prove themselves when the Bolts host the Florida Panthers tonight at AMALIE Arena to kick off a season-long six-game homestand.

Alex Barre-Boulet will return to the lineup and skate with the top line alongside Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point if the morning skate rushes are to be believed. Barre-Boulet hasn't skated with the Lightning since March 9 at Detroit and will play in just his third career NHL game tonight. The 23-year-old forward will also see time on the power play as he hopped onto the second unit during morning skate with Anthony Cirelli sliding up to the top unit.
Steven Stamkos remains out and won't play in the Florida series according to head coach Jon Cooper, necessitating some juggling with the power-play units.
"He adds a little skill, and he can make some plays," Cooper said of Barre-Boulet. "We want him competing out there. Just for roster reasons and cap reasons, we were unable to keep him around, but we were able to get some of these young guys a taste in case we need to bring them back. When you have a few of these guys hanging around the taxi squad, it's good to get them in. I think he can give us a little boost."
Barre-Boulet, who enters tonight's contest having scored a goal in five-straight contests with the Bolts' AHL affiliate in Syracuse, is still searching for his first NHL goal.
One rookie who's found the back of the net with regularity is Ross Colton.
Colton has seven goals in 16 career NHL games and has recorded a point in 10 of 16 contests.
He moved up to the second line during Thursday's skate and will play the right wing alongside Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli when the Bolts line up against the Panthers. Colton saw his three-game goal streak come to an end Tuesday in Nashville, one shy of matching the franchise record for a rookie goal streak, but has goals in five of the last seven games.

Cooper was asked by the media Thursday what's surprised him most about Colton's play early in his NHL career.
"Probably his compete, his grittiness, I've liked that about him," Cooper responded. "He's greasy in a good way. He's getting a piece of opponents. He's getting in their way. And then the other part is probably he's got a better knack around the net than I probably gave him credit for. To be able to do it in the minors is one thing but to be able to do it up here in the NHL is another. It's a tiny sample size, but he's proven he can score here."
To facilitate the elevation of the rookies, Tyler Johnson and Mathieu Joseph were moved down to the fourth line during morning skate. The Barclay Goodrow-Yanni Gourde-Blake Coleman trio remains intact.
Tampa Bay suffered its worst loss of the season when it was embarrassed 7-2 by Nashville on Tuesday, the Lightning setting season lows for most goals allowed and largest margin of defeat.
Following the loss, Ryan McDonagh said it was one of the worst performances the team has had while he's been in a Lightning uniform.
On Thursday, Victor Hedman echoed that sentiment. He said it's the job of the leadership group, beginning with himself, to make sure a loss like that doesn't happen again and the Lightning get back to the way they know they can play with just 14 games remaining in the regular season and first place in the Central Division still up for grabs.
"We lost a lot of games, and that's not what we are as a group," Hedman said. "It starts with me. I've got to be better and lead the way. Things go up and down during the season, we know that. Same goes for individual players. You're going to have these stretches where stuff maybe doesn't go your way. We've just got to work through it and come out the other side a better player. What's good about this league is that there's new games every other day, so you get a chance to do better."
The Lightning play two games against Florida before opening a back-to-back set versus Carolina Monday. All three teams - Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina - are tied atop the Central Division standings with 58 points, although the Hurricanes own the tiebreaker having played one less game than the Lightning and two fewer games than the Panthers.
How the Bolts come out of these next four games will go a long way in determining their eventual finish in the Central.
"They're big games, for sure," Hedman said. "We can't look too far ahead. We've got to narrow down our game. We've just got to take it game by game. There's not a whole lot left in the regular season, so we want to get our game back on track and it starts tonight. We're not looking forward to anything after that."

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