A funk. Slide. Bad luck. Whatever you want to call it, the Tampa Bay Lightning are thick in the middle of a serious losing streak. They are 1-5 in the month of December and 2-8 over their last 10 games, and they have slid all the way down to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Thankfully the Islanders and Hurricanes are still around to keep the Lightning out of absolute last place, but considering the Islanders are only two points behind the Bolts in the standings, it wouldn't take much for the Bolts to slip even further.
But even though the Bolts enter tonight's game without Martin St. Louis (still out with an eye injury) and with only two regulation wins since November 9th, they do have some hope. The Calgary Flames have had a mediocre season themselves, and they currently sit in fourth in the Northwest Division with 30 points. They have been playing well recently, winning three of their previous four games, but they'll make for an easier matchup than other teams the Bolts have faced recently (the Flyers and Rangers in particular).
Mathieu Garon will get the start for the Bolts at goalie, as regular starter Dwayne Roloson has fallen to pieces in recent weeks. Roloson currently has an .882 save percentage, second worst among all goalies with at least 10 starts. Meanwhile, Garon has a .907 save percentage so far this season; that's not earth-shattering, but it feels like a dramatic improvement compared with Roloson.
Puck drop is at 7:30pm EST.
Where: St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL
Coverage: Sun Sports (cable), 970 WFLA (radio)
To join in the conversation during the game, check out SB Nation's blog on the Lightning, Raw Charge.