By Jake Ricker
The Tampa Bay Lightning will take on the Detroit Red Wings tonight in their second game of the season. The Lightning will be looking to bounce back after a bad loss to the Penguins on opening night. Meanwhile, the Red Wings will be playing in their first game of the 2021-22 NHL season. Let take a look at how these two teams stack up and what they need to do to come out on top.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Line projections
Palat-Point-Kucherov
Killorn-Cirelli-Stamkos
Joseph-Colton-Perry
Maroon-Bellemare-Raddysh
Hedman-Rutta
McDonagh-Cernak
Sergachev-Sustr
Vasy
Keys to the game
Better Passes
Stay out of the box
Shoot the puck
Not much went right for the Bolts in their season opener, and they will look to correct that tonight. Right from puck drop, the Bolts were just a step behind the Penguins, and they never caught up. They will need to get off to a good start tonight if they want to avoid a second loss on the season.
Passing and defensive play were also an issue for the Bolts in their first game of the season. While Detroit does not have the same talent as Pittsburgh does, if they continue to make mistakes in the passing game, Detroit will make them pay
The Bolts will be without defenseman Zach Bogosian, who sustained a lower-body injury and will miss the next 4-6 weeks. The Bolts called up Andrej Sustr from the Syracuse Crunch and will need him to fill that 6th spot on the defense.
Detroit Red Wings
Line Projections
Bertuzzi-Larkin-Raymond
Fabbri-Suter-Zadina
Namestnikov-Rasmussen-Erne
Smith-Stephens-Gagner
Dekeyser-Hronek
Leddy-Seider
Stall-Lindstrom
Nedelkovic
Keys to the game
Build off crowd energy
Stay out of the box
Fast Start
The Red Wings will not have an easy home opener facing the Lightning, but as the Penguins showed on Tuesday, they are beatable. The Wings will need to capitalize on the opportunities they get as they might not get many, with the Bolts looking to bounce back after their first game.
Opening night is always a fun one for any team, so there should be a lot of energy in Little Caesars Arena at puck drop. If Detroit can build off some of that momentum and get off to a fast start, they might have a good shot at taking down the Bolts.
The Red Wings will be without forward Jakub Vrana, who is a big part of their top 6. They will need someone to step up and take his role against a highly talented Lightning team.
Overview
After a more than disappointing outing from the Bolts on opening night, expect them to come out looking to put on their best performance. While the Red Wings may be considered one of the lower-tier teams in the league, it is still important not to underestimate them. Tonight will be the first game back on Bally Sports, which means Dave Randorf will have the call as he starts his second season with the Lightning.
Be sure to follow us on Twitter @BoltReport_TB for live coverage of tonights game.
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