Lightning (26-14-5, 57 Points) at Hurricanes (21-16-6, 48 Points)

Last 10: Tampa Bay (6-4-0); Carolina (6-2-2)

	STATS
45	GP	43
26	W	21
14	L	16
5	OT	6
57	P	48
0.633	P%	0.558
2.91	G/G	2.91
3.11	GA/G	2.95
21.4	PP%	17.1
84.6	PK%	78.5
32.6	S/G	30.6
27.8	SA/G	33.9
50.7	FO%	43.2

DATE	VIS/HOME	FINAL
Dec 20, 2010	CAR@TBL	TBL, 5 - 1

Pregame Video

• Coach Boucher

Game Info

• TV: Sun Sports (HD)
• Radio: Listen Live

Gameday Blogs

• Insider: Expect Roloson back in net tonight against Canes
• Mishkin:
• News Wire: Injury slowed down Stamkos

Season Series: This is the second of six meetings between the clubs. Tampa Bay holds a 1-0 season series edge after defeating the Hurricanes at the St. Pete Times Forum back on Dec. 20 by a score of 5-1. Steven Stamkos scored his 100thcareer goal in the victory.

The Big Story: Tampa Bay has alternated wins and losses in each of its last six games, but has played well enough to maintain its position at the top of the Southeast Division, as well as second place in the Eastern Conference with 57 points. Carolina, meanwhile, has points in 13 of its last 17 games and has climbed back into the playoff picture after a sluggish start, sitting just three points out of the eighth and final spot in the East.

Team Scope:

LIGHTNING – Tampa Bay plays in the second half of a back-to-back set tonight after falling last night, 5-2, to the Devils. Tonight is also a brief one-game road stint for the team, who will return home following tonight’s game before taking on Columbus on Tuesday at the St. Pete Times Forum. Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis scored for the Bolts in last night’s defeat, but neither was pleased with his team’s effort, although Head Coach Guy Boucher acknowledged his team did battle hard. Dwayne Roloson and Dan Ellis were both utilized in net, with Roloson being chased to the bench after allowing four goals on nine shots.

HURRICANES – Carolina hosts the Lightning in a brief one-game home stand tonight before taking on Boston at TD Garden on Monday. The Hurricanes failed to earn at least a point for the first time in their last nine games Thursday, suffering a 3-2 loss to Buffalo. The Hurricanes continue to hold at least one game in hand over seven of the eight teams currently ahead of them in the standings. They’re also five points ahead of the Sabres for ninth. Tuomo Ruutu netted a power-play goal in the defeat and rookie Jeff Skinner continued to be a bright spot, scoring his 15th of the season in the final minute.

Who’s Hot: Vincent Lecavalier has an assist in three straight for the Lightning and Dominic Moore has points in three out of his last four games. Martin St. Louis also has two goals and two assists in his last four games. Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu is riding a four-game point streak with three goals and seven points in that span, while Jeff Skinner also comes in with points in four straight, with four goals and two assists.

Injury Report: LIGHTNING – Mike Smith (minor knee injury, day-to-day, placed on Injured Reserve). HURRICANES – Jiri Tlusty (arm, placed on Injured Reserve).

Notable Quotable: “I don’t know if it’s mental, that we’re just not preparing that well for the games as we are against the better teams. We seem to fair well against the teams that are ahead of us, or who are tied with us, so we just need to find the way we’ve been getting up against [teams like] Washington the last two times to get ready for every game.” – Steven Stamkos, following a 5-2 defeat to New Jersey last night and his thoughts on how his team responds to clubs in various positions in the standings