TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Lightning are set to face off against the Minnesota Wild tonight at AMALIE Arena in the first of two matchups between the teams over the next week and a half. The Wild will return to Tampa on November 1st for a rematch at the Xcel Energy Center.
Historically, the Lightning have a 13-17-4 record against the Wild, but have fared better in recent seasons, going 4-2-0 in their last three meetings. Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in career scoring against Minnesota with 17 points, followed by Victor Hedman with 10 points and Brayden Point with 9 points.
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The Lightning won both games against the Wild last season, outscoring them 11-4 in the two contests. Victor Hedman led the way with 5 points, and seven different Lightning players recorded at least two points in those games. Andrei Vasilevskiy was stellar in net, stopping 52 of 56 shots for a .929 save percentage.
Both teams enter tonight’s game with strong starts to the season. The Lightning are currently second in the Atlantic Division with an 8-point record, while the Wild sit second in the Central Division with 10 points.
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Keep an eye on these key players:
- Lightning: Nikita Kucherov (12 points), Brandon Hagel (8 points), Victor Hedman (8 points)
- Wild: Kirill Kaprizov (10 points), Matt Boldy (8 points), Mats Zuccarello (7 points)
Upcoming Milestones
Several Lightning players are approaching significant career milestones:
- Cam Atkinson is one goal away from 250 career goals.
- Anthony Cirelli is two goals away from 100 career goals.
- Zemgus Girgensons needs one assist to reach 100 career assists.
- Jake Guentzel is two points shy of 500 career points.
- Brandon Hagel will play his 300th career game tonight.
- Victor Hedman needs 5 assists to pass Steven Stamkos for second-most assists in Lightning history.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy is four wins away from 300 career wins.
Catch the Game
The puck drops tonight at 7:00 PM ET at AMALIE Arena. The game will be televised on FanDuel Sports and broadcast on 102.5 The Bone.
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