Lightning Strikes: Weekly Preview 1/28/18-2/3/18

The Tampa Bay Lightning are looking to continue the success that they've had all season long. They also look to get Victor Hedman back from an injury.

It won't be easy for the Bolts since they will have to be playing on the road in Canada. They will take on the Central Division leading Winnipeg Jets tonight. On Thursday night, the will take on the Calgary Flames, who are battling for a playoff spot. The Lightning will end the week with a visit to Vancouver to take on a struggling Canucks team.

The Bolts take on a Winnipeg Jets team who lost defenseman Jacob Trouba for the foreseeable future due to injury. The Lighting will need to establish a forecheck to get some offensive zone time and keep the balanced offensive lineup in their own zone. Tampa Bay needs to play a solid, 60 minute road game and everyone will need to pitch in since the Jets are 17-3-1 on home ice. The Bolts should try to stay out of the penalty box since Winnipeg has the second ranked power play in the League. The Lightning are going to need the goaltender to come up big.

The Jets will need to stop the balanced attack of the Lightning, who have four lines that can score. Winnipeg will need to have the lead entering the final period since they are only 1-12-1 when trailing after two periods. The Jets will need to get the first goal of the game and keep building from there. They will need to get off to a fast start, get plenty of pucks on net and get deflections. The Jets are going to need the goalie to come up with some big saves.

The Lightning will then travel to Calgary to take on the Flames on Thursday night. The Bolts need to be smart with the puck since the Flames can force turnovers. Tampa Bay will need to win the special teams battle since neither the Flames don't have a great power play and the Bolts have a weak penalty kill. The Bolts should get plenty of shots on goal and traffic in front of the net. The Lightning need to keep an eye out on the Flames defensive corps since they can put up some number offensively. Tampa Bay needs to stay out of the penalty box since they have a weak penalty kill.

Calgary should try to use their speed to create odd man rushes, and scoring chances. The Flames will need to be solid on the defensive side of the puck since the Lightning have a good offensive team. Calgary will need to protect the puck while making smart decisions to avoid turnovers. The Flames need to take advantage of the weak penalty kill of the Lightning, and get their own power play on track. They will also need to set the tempo of the game from the opening face-off, and not let the Bolts dictate how they will play the game.

On Saturday, the Bolts finish out the week against the Vancouver Canucks, who are struggling. Tampa Bay will need to play with discipline since the Canucks do have one of the better power plays in the League. The Lightning should try to get the first goal of the game and get off to a decent start. The Bolts want to get plenty of shots on goal since the goaltending has struggled at times this year for the Canucks. Tampa Bay will want to keep attacking and not sit back once they have the lead because the Canucks can score some goals.

The Canucks need to establish the forecheck and cycle game early to keep the Lightning in their own zone and defending. Vancouver will want to get plenty of traffic in front and shoot high especially if Andrei Vasilevskiy is in net. The Canucks should try to get more than just Brock Boeser, the phenomenal rookie, involved in the goal scoring. Vancouver will need to find a way to stay in the game and hope that they goaltending can come up with some big saves when needed. The Canucks need to get the first goal of the game and limit their mistakes with and without the puck.