Lighting Vs Columbus Blue
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An NHL Game Day Preview between the Tampa Bay Lighting Vs Columbus Blue Jackets – StatementGames alternative Fantasy Hockey, play for FREE and WIN CASH Rewards.

RECAP: Steven Stamkos returns to ice for Lightning's Game 3 win | WFLA
Steven Stamkos – (Tampa Bay Lighting)

When: 7:00 PM EST, January 21, 2021
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
TV: NBCSN

Puckline: Lighting -1.5 / +155 | Blue Jackets +1.5 / -175
Moneyline: Lighting -160 / Blue Jackets +140
OVER/UNDER Game Total: 5.5

Tampa Bay Lighting

Record: 2-0-0-0
Road Record: 0-0-0-0
PL: 2-0

Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 1-2-1-0
Home Record: 0-0-0-0
PL: 0-4

Tampa Bay Lighting Vs Columbus Blue Jackets Game Day Preview

BATTALION BREAKDOWN: Pierre-Luc Dubois
Pierre-Luc Dubois – (Columbus Blue Jacket)

A pair of teams from the revamped East Division take to the ice in the Buckeye State. The Tampa Bay Lightning are officially on the road for the 1st time as they travel to face the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight.

The teams met just once in the regular season last year. A Tampa Bay 2-1 overtime win at Nationwide Arena on February 10, 2020. In the postseason, Tampa Bay beat Columbus in five games en route to the Stanley Cup.

Tampa Bay Lighting

For the Lightning, team captain Steven Stamkos has been a rock-solid replacement for sidelined top scorer Nikita Kucherov.

Stamkos produced two goals and three assists in the pair of home victories over Chicago — showing signs that the six-time All-Star and two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner is healthy again.

Also, Tampa Bay’s front office has shown its skill at working the salary cap and keeping its core players together.

Coach Jon Cooper said general manager Julien BriseBois has done his job in juggling the salary cap and retaining key players, especially with the high-scoring Kucherov on long-term injured reserve.

“I think you need that, right? You need your players to perform, you need your coaches to perform and you need your management to perform,” Cooper said. “They’ve done a great job to keep our core together.

“Is it ideal that Kucherov is out for the regular season? Definitely not. But to be able to keep a group together that had some success last year, obviously … that took some work. You have to be prepared for every scenario that comes at us, and he was.”

The long-term IR designation on Kucherov clears his $9.5 million salary off the cap.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Pierre-Luc Dubois situation has dominated the conversation with the Columbus Blue Jackets through four tough games to start the season.

The Blue Jackets will try to set that distraction aside when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning — the team that knocked them out of the playoffs five months ago — in Thursday night’s home opener, the start of a four-game homestand in the Ohio capital.

Dubois, who signed a two-year, $10 million contract on Dec. 31, has said he wants out of Columbus.

Not many 22-year-olds who have played just three NHL seasons — three good ones — have the clout to demand a trade. But the 6-foot-3, 218-pound star center, who has tallied 159 points (66 goals, 93 assists) in 238 games, has made his displeasure known despite the new deal.

“It’s a situation, it is,” coach John Tortorella said during a weekly radio appearance. “It’s a situation and we’ll go through it day by day.”

Lighting Vs Blue Jackets Facts

  1. Lightning are 46-13 in their last 59 vs. a team with a losing record.
  2. Blue Jackets are 3-8 in their last 11 home games.
  3. Lightning are 9-3 in the last 12 meetings in Columbus.

Tampa Bay Lighting Vs Columbus Blue Jackets Alternative Fantasy Hockey-Statement Games Picks

Lighting 3 Blue Jackets 2

10 PT Pick: Total Goals UNDER 5.5
9 PT Pick: Steven Stamkos + Tyler Johnson + Brayden Point UNDER 1.5 Goals
8 PT Pick: Cam Atkinson + Boone Jenner + Pierre-Luc Dubois UNDER 0.5 Goals

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