After meeting in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for two straight years, it looks like both the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning will miss the playoffs this season.

At the start of the year the Lightning were a “lock” to make the playoffs according to most pundits, but injuries and inconsistent play derailed their season. Steven Stamkos is revered as one of the NHL’s best goal scorers, but another serious injury has limited him to just 17 games this season. Stamkos has now missed 106 games over the last four seasons, but has averaged 43.5 goals per 82 games over that span, so you can see how much the Lightning miss him.

The Lightning aren’t necessarily out of it just yet and tonight’s game is a must-win for them, so the Red Wings could throw a wrench into their rival’s plans. With the Boston Bruins on a four-game losing streak, the Lightning sit just three points back for the final Wild Card spot with a game in hand. Technically, the Red Wings could finish the season 10-0-0 and get to 89 points and hypothetically have a chance to continue the streak, but who am I kidding? They’re done. Haha.

Detroit Red Wings Lines via DailyFaceoff

The Red Wings are expected to use the same lineup as they had in Montreal on Tuesday. Darren Helm practiced on Friday, but isn’t quite ready to play, but head coach Jeff Blashill said that he is “possible” for Sunday.

Anthony Mantha once again had a great night against his hometown team as he scored a BEAUTIFUL game-winner to cap-off a seven-shot evening on Tuesday. The goal was his 15th of the season, so he now ranks sixth among rookies in goals per game (.273) this season.

Justin Abdelkader was the other goal scorer in Montreal. He now has a whopping seven goals on the season or in other words, he is making $607,142 per goal so far this season. What an investment…. HEY LAS VEGAS TAKE THIS GUY! Thanks.

Tampa Bay Lightning Lines via DailyFaceoff

For as big of a loss as Stamkos is, Nikita Kucherov might actually be the Lightning’s best player. He scored a hat-trick in their win in Boston last night and now has six goals in his last three games and 37 goals on the season. He is tied for second in goals and his 76 points is good for sixth in the league. If the Lightning are able to climb into the playoffs a case can be made for Kucherov to win the Hart Trophy.

Not only is Stamkos sidelined either. Red Wing killer Tyler Johnson is also out. As is Ryan Callahan, Cedric Paquette and Jason Garrison could miss tonight’s game after leaving yesterday with a lower-body injury.

With Johnson out, Brayden Point has been playing with Kucherov and Ondrej Palat and has an impressive four goals and three assists (seven points) in his last six games.

Petr Mrazek will get the nod for the Red Wings, while Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to go for the Lightning.

Mrazek played well in his last outing, stopping 28 of 30 shots in the Red Wings’ 2-1 loss to the Sabres. They’ve let a lot of bad teams beat them recently and they’ve had no success against a good team like the Lightning. Mrazek started two of the first three meetings, but made a relief appearance in the on he didn’t start. Overall, he is 0-3-0 with a 4.71 GAA and .833 SV% vs. the Lightning, but he did have success against them in the playoffs a year ago. It’s basically a playoff game for Tampa Bay, maybe that Mrazek will show up?

Vasilevskiy had been great after the Lightning traded Ben Bishop, but he comes in having lost three in a row while allowing four goals in each start. Overall, he is 6-3-1 with a 2.29 GAA and .931 SV% since the trade. He faced the Red Wings back in December, when Bishop was forced to leave with an injury—he stopped 22 of 23 shots in the 4-1 win.

Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. ET at Joe Louis Arena. You can watch the game on Fox Sports Detroit and if you can’t watch the game you can listen to it on 97.1 FM The Ticket.

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