The Tampa Bay Lightning welcome the San Jose Sharks to the Tampa Bay Times Forum Thursday night. The Lightning have struggled as of late, losing four of their last five games, keeping them 10 points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The two teams met once earlier this season on Dec. 21 in San Jose, where the Sharks used five first period goals, two from center Logan Couture, to defeat the Lightning 7-2.
The Lightning cannot give the Sharks opportunities on the power play if they hope to get back to their winning ways. The Sharks have scored a power play goal in each of their last 10 games and they also convert 21 percent of power play chances. Even more amazing is the fact they have converted 40.7 percent of power play chances since the all star break, the clear leader in that span. The Lightning being ranked 24 out of 30 in the penalty kill so they have to play disciplined to keep the Sharks off the man-advantage.