Evgeni Nabokov will be in goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight as they visit the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. Yes, that Evgeni Nabokov. He’s the backup down there this season, and after usual starter Ben Bishop went down with an injury on Monday night, it’s Nabokov’s turn to go against the Flyers tonight.
So what’s that mean? Nabokov hasn’t really played much this season, but he allowed three goals on 21 shots last night in Pittsburgh, so there’s that. It’s possible the Flyers are catching the Lightning at the right time. They’re a skilled team but are slumping a bit right now, winners of just three games in the month of December and one in their last five.
That said, the Lightning are still a very skilled team. Late in last night’s loss, coach Jon Cooper put Ryan Callahan, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Drouin on the same line … and, yeah. That’s a scary prospect. They’re strong defensively after some offseason additions, and they are without a doubt a contender in the East this season. Tampa Bay is the real deal.
The Flyers, meanwhile, are looking to keep up the recent success they’ve seen at home. Sure, they’ve outplayed some pretty bad teams in New Jersey and Carolina lately, but they outscored those teams 9-2 in two games. We’ll see if they can keep it up. We’d expect that the lineup will be the same as it was Saturday, which means Michael Del Zotto sits on defense and Vincent Lecavalier sits for a seventh straight game — yes, even against his old team.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Philadelphia Flyers
7 p.m. ET | 4 p.m. PT
Wells Fargo Center | South Philadelphia
In Philadelphia: CSN Philly, 97.5 The Fanatic
In Tampa: Sun Sports
Elsewhere: NHL GameCenter Live, NHL Center Ice
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