St. Louis Blues (6-8-0, fourth in the Central Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (9-6-1, fourth in the Atlantic Division)
Tampa, Florida; Friday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning host the St. Louis Blues after Nicholas Paul scored two goals in the Lightning’s 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins.
Tampa Bay has a 9-6-1 record overall and a 6-3-1 record on its home ice. The Lightning have a 5-3-0 record in games they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponents.
St. Louis is 5-5-0 in road games and 6-8-0 overall. The Blues have given up 50 goals while scoring 34 for a -16 scoring differential.
The teams play Friday for the third time this season. The Lightning won the last matchup 4-2. Paul scored two goals in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Steven Stamkos has 10 goals and 11 assists for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov has seven goals and nine assists over the last 10 games.
Ryan O’Reilly has scored five goals with three assists for the Blues. Brayden Schenn has four goals and four assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 6-3-1, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.5 assists, 5.5 penalties and 13.6 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game.
Blues: 7-3-0, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.7 assists, three penalties and 6.9 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game.
INJURIES: Lightning: Anthony Cirelli: out (shoulder).
Blues: Marco Scandella: out (hip), Logan Brown: out (upper-body), Scott Perunovich: out (shoulder), Brandon Saad: day to day (illness).
