Tampa Bay Defeats Dallas, Set to Face Pittsburgh on Wednesday

The Tampa Bay Lightning are set to face the Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday night. Game action will begin at 7 p.m. in Tampa.

The Teams

The Lightning are 11-10-5 so far in 2023, with their most recent victory coming against the Dallas Stars, where they won 4-0. The team has scored 27 points in the 26 games played.

Monday Night Hockey didn’t disappoint with a 4-goal home shutout WIN with @DaveMishkin on the call! #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/NjCDJtWdMW

— Lightning Audio Network (@BoltsRadio) December 5, 2023

The Penguins, on the other hand, are also 11-10-3 on the season. In 24 games played, the Penguins have scored 25 points. They are on a two-game losing streak, coming against the Philadelphia Flyers twice.

The Lightning sits as the fifth seed in the Atlantic division, while the Penguins hold the sixth seed in the Metropolitan division.

Key Players

For Tampa Bay, Nikita Kucherov is the star of the show. Kucherov has 42 points, which is good for first in the NHL. He is also second in goals, with 16, and assists, with 26.

Additionally, Brayden Point has been key in the Lightning’s offensive success. He has 12 goals and 18 assists so far on the season.

At goaltender, the Lightning have Andrei Vasilevskiy who is officially back from injury. In five games this season he has a .887 save percentage and two wins.

For Pittsburgh, they are led by Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby. Guentzel has 28 points thanks to nine goals and 19 assists, while Crosby has 26 thanks to 15 goals and 11 assists.

Evgeni Malkin has also provided support for Pittsburgh, scoring 10 goals and 11 assists.

Alex Nedeljkovic is the goaltender for the Penguins, and he holds a 2-2-1 record. He’s allowed 2.18 goals per game and holds a .937 save percentage.

NED SAYS NO ❌ pic.twitter.com/pkrMWClhLz

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 5, 2023

What’s to Come?

After the two teams play, they will each have to be ready to play again quickly.

The Lightning face the Nashville Predators on Thursday and the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.

For Pittsburgh, they will face the Florida Panthers Friday. They do get a break after, though, not playing again until Tuesday when they face the Arizona Coyotes.