Hurricanes Game Day Primer

The Tampa Bay Lightning held its morning skate on Saturday at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in preparation of tonight’s 7 p.m. puck drop against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Here are a few notes and numbers from head coach Guy Boucher’s pregame comments:

LINEUPS, INJURIES AND ILLNESSES

As Boucher said yesterday, Mathieu Garon will get the start in net tonight versus Carolina, against whom he is 2-0-0 this season to go along with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage.

The Lightning recalled forward Dana Tyrell from AHL Syracuse on Saturday.

• RELATED: Official release on Tyrell transaction
• JOHNSON'S TAKE: Brittany Zion previews tonight's match-up with an interview from forward Tyler Johnson
• COACH'S COMMENTS: Watch Guy Boucher's pre-game press conference
• BOLTS INSIDER: Tom Pyatt says he's ready to go for tonight, Guy Boucher calls him a "maybe" Bolts Insider shares more...

The status of Tom Pyatt is still unknown for tonight, as Boucher said he is still a “maybe.”

His presence or absence in the lineup tonight will determine how many forwards Boucher goes with tonight, but he did confirm he will insert six defensemen into the lineup, including Radko Gudas.

Therefore, Brian Lee and Marc-Andre Bergeron will be out.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

-Three of Martin St. Louis' six career hat tricks have been scored against Carolina

-Tom Pyatt has scored in both games against Carolina this season and has points over his past three games against them

-The Lightning have had six different rookies make their NHL debut this season (Conacher, Gudas, Johnson, Palat, Killorn and Panik)

-The Lightning have won both prior meetings between the two clubs this season, with each of them taking place in Carolina

-Tampa Bay is on a three-game winning streak against the Hurricanes dating back to last season

THEY SAID IT

Guy Boucher, on what the team would miss with Tom Pyatt out of the lineup:

“A lot. He’s relentless, first on puck, great in his defensive zone, he gives it his all and he’s part of the relentless culture that we want.”