Eastern Conference-leader Tampa Bay and Minnesota square off
Minnesota Wild (32-27-8, eighth in the Western Conference) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (51-12-4, first in the Eastern Conference)
Tampa, Florida; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Wild visit Amalie Arena to face the top-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Lightning are 28-5-2 on their home ice. Tampa Bay has scored 257 goals and is first in the Eastern Conference averaging 3.8 goals per game. Brayden Point leads the team with 37.
The Wild are 18-14-2 in road games. Minnesota has given up 41 power-play goals, killing 80 percent of opponent chances. In their last matchup on Oct. 20, Minnesota won 5-4. Charlie Coyle recorded a team-high 2 points for the Wild.
TOP PERFORMERS: Point leads the Lightning with 37 goals and has totaled 81 points. Nikita Kucherov has recorded 20 points over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay with six goals and 14 assists.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wild: 5-2-3, averaging 6.6 points, 2.6 goals, four assists, 2.9 penalties and 6.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game with a .916 save percentage.
Lightning: 9-1-0, averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 goals, 6.7 assists, 4.5 penalties and 11.6 penalty minutes while giving up 1.7 goals per game with a .949 save percentage.
Lightning Injuries: None listed.
Wild Injuries: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by HERO Sports, and data from Sportradar.