Puck Drop: 8 PM EST
Location: Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
TV: BSDET, BSSUNX
Radio: 97.1 The Game
Bolts’ SBNation Site: Raw Charge
Ladies and gentlemen (and the rest of you too), we’ve got ourselves a real life end-of-February exciting game against a division rival.
This is our third game of the season against the Lightning, who we haven’t seen since December and we won’t see again until the very end of the season. Detroit won in Tampa on December 6th 4-2 and then beat the Bolts here at home 7-4 on the 21st.
Derek Lalonde and the team appears to be motivated to beat the Bolts who have had their number (and now has their ex-head coach).
On Tampa’s side, they’re four points behind Toronto for 2nd in the Atlantic and the home seed in what is almost certain to be their first round matchup; they also have two games in hand. If they had beaten us in December like they were supposed to have, they’d tied in points with games in hand.
The biggest lineup update for the Lightning is that they’ll be without chalk-eater Erik Cernak for this game while he serves a two-game suspension for yet another dirty hit.
For the Wings, the big question is whether Lucas Raymond will be on the ice for his own bobblehead night. He took part in practice yesterday but wasn’t part of the line rushes. It would be cool to have him back, but I’d just as soon not push it if he’s risking doing more damage coming back too soon.