Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Forwards
Corey Perry - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - Steven Stamkos
Patrick Maroon - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Mathieu Joseph
Boris Katchouk - Ross Colton - Taylor Raddysh
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Cal Foote
Ryan McDonagh - Mikhail Sergachev
Fredrik Claesson - Andrej Sustr
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Saturday's Matchup
The Lightning and the Sharks are playing their first of two meetings this season (also: Feb. 1 vs. SJS) and the only meeting at SAP Center...Tampa Bay and San Jose are playing for the first time since Feb. 1, 2020, a 3-0 Lightning win in San Jose backed by Curtis McElhinney's 30-save shutout performance...The Lightning have won three straight over the Sharks by a combined score of 16-4...The Bolts have won five of their last six meetings with the Sharks...The Lightning have emerged victorious in four of their last six trips to San Jose...Tampa Bay is 10-10-0 with one tie all-time in San Jose...Steven Stamkos is averaging 1.47 points per game for his career vs. the Sharks (13-12--25 pts. in 17 GP), his highest points per game average against any NHL franchise...Stamkos has scored five goals over his last three games vs. San Jose and is on a four-game point streak vs. the Sharks (5- 4--9 pts.).
Saturday's Storylines
Tampa Bay concludes a three-game road trip through California tonight...The Lightning are playing their fifth of five-straight games against Western Conference opponents...The Bolts are completing their fifth of 12 back-to-back sets this season...The Lightning are 3-0-1 so far this season in the second half of a back-to-back...Tampa Bay fell to second place overall in the NHL standings on points (59) following its loss to Anaheim...The Lightning rank tied for first in the NHL with Pittsburgh for road goals (74)...The Bolts pace the NHL for total hits (1,094).
Injuries
2021-22 Reg. Season Man Games Lost: 150
Current injuries
Zach Bogosian (Lower-body injury Jan. 15; Out 2-3 weeks) 2 Games
Erik Cernak (Lower-body injury Jan. 13; Day-to-day) 3 Games
Ondrej Palat (Lower-body injury Jan. 11; Day-to-day) 4 Games
Jan Rutta (Lower-body injury Jan. 15; Day-to-day) 2 Games
The Road Ahead
Thursday, January 27 vs. New Jersey Devils
Saturday, January 29 vs. Vegas Golden Knights
Tuesday, February 1 vs. San Jose Sharks
