Time: 7:00 PM EST
Place: Amalie Arena
TV: FS-Detroit, SUN
Radio: 97.1 FM The Ticket/1270 AM
Lightning Blog: Raw Charge
Both teams come into this Sunday evening matchup coming off Saturday night division rival games. The Bolts came out flat against Montreal, at one point being down 17-0 in shots and 2-0 in goals before storming back (heh) and taking a lead against the hapless Habs. Meanwhile, the Wings came out decently strong against the Panthers before a 2nd period collapse grounded them. Both games ended 5-4, with each team coming out on the opposite ends of that final scoreline.
All things considered, much of the league is still waiting for the Lightning to start playing like the contender they were expected to be. Their first game of the season against Detroit isn’t going to prove anything one way or another, but Tampa is clearly a better team than the Wings.
Valtteri Filppula didn’t finish last night’s game and is currently doubtful for tonight. FS-D Reported during the broadcast last night that Jonathan Bernier is expected to be healthy enough to go in net tonight, but Detroit continues to carry three goalies with Calvin Pickard in tow. It’s possible that at some point they might even have four goalies on the roster at some point today, as the Jets placed former Goalie-of-the-Future Eric Comrie back on waivers yesterday and I personally think it should be a no-brainer for the Wings to make a claim.
