Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Los Angeles Kings (4-2-0) and Tampa Bay Lightning (3-2-0) go head-to-head live from the Tampa Bay Times Forum. The game can be live streamed here. Los Angeles fans can hear all the action on AM 570 Fox Sports while Tampa Bay fans can do the same on 620 WDAE AM.
In the first of two meetings between these two clubs this season, Tampa Bay is looking to bounce back from a loss after it was once again haunted by its penalty kill while the Kings try to ride out the momentum from Sunday's victory.
The Lightning lost 5-4 to the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night after giving up three goals on the man advantage, and has now allowed seven power play goals in 22 attempts, giving Tampa Bay the 26th ranked penalty kill in the league.
"We got a young team and this is a team sport," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said per NHL.com. "Guys take penalties, and do I like the penalties that were taken [against the Penguins]? Absolutely not. Is it unacceptable? It is. In saying that, if we kill one of those off, we are [going to overtime]."
The Kings come into tonight's game off of a 3-0 victory Sunday against the Florida Panthers. Los Angeles has had several offensive weapons including Jeff Carter, who leads the team with four goals and has added an assist for five points through six games. Anze Kopitar is tied with Carter in points as he's also notched five so far this season, all off of assists.
The Kings have had some help in the crease as well as Jonathan Quick is 3-2-0 and has allowed 13 goals through five games while putting up a 2.65 GAA and a .905 save percentage. After losing two of his first three starts, Quick is back on track after winning two straight games. Backup net minder Ben Scrivens shutout the Panthers Sunday and hasn't allowed a goal through two appearances while notching a perfect 25-for-25 clip on shots against him.
"You can't give enough credit to the guys in front," Scrivens told NHL.com after Sunday's win. "They played extremely well, and all I had to do was focus on stopping the puck and seeing it well. I was fortunate I didn't give up any bad rebounds and the rebounds [I did allow] the guys were right there to clear them away from in front of me."
While Tampa Bay's defense and penalty killing has struggled, its offense has been solid as Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis have paved the way. Stamkos has a team-high four goals to go along with three assists for seven points while St. Louis also has seven points off of two tallies and five helpers.
It is uncertain if Lightning goalie Ben Bishop (3-0-0, 1.93 GAA) will be ready to go Tuesday due to a lower body injury. If not, he will be replaced by Anders Lindback (0-2-0, 4.07 GAA).
The Lightning will look to keep their offense soaring while the Kings hope to stay on the right track when the lights come on at the Tampa Bay Times Forum tonight.
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