Preview: Lightning have sights set on 7th straight win with visit to face Blue Jackets

TV: NBCSN

TIME: 7 p.m.

Tampa Bay Lightning (35-15-5, second in the Atlantic Division) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (30-17-9, third in the Metropolitan Division)

BOTTOM LINE

Nikita Kucherov leads Tampa Bay into a matchup with Columbus. He ranks 10th in the league with 67 points, scoring 25 goals and totaling 42 assists.

The Blue Jackets are 22-7-6 in conference play. Columbus averages 3.0 penalties per game, the fewest in the NHL. Pierre-Luc Dubois leads them averaging 0.3.

The Lightning are 16-2-0 against opponents from the Atlantic Division. Tampa Bay has scored 197 goals and ranks second in the NHL averaging 3.6 goals per game. Steven Stamkos leads the team with 26.

The teams face off Monday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS

Dubois leads the Blue Jackets with 42 points, scoring 17 goals and registering 25 assists. Nick Foligno has recorded four assists over the last 10 games for Columbus.

Kucherov has collected 67 total points while scoring 25 goals and totaling 42 assists for the Lightning. Stamkos has scored nine goals over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.

LAST 10 GAMES

Lightning: 8-1-1, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.4 assists, 3.3 penalties and 6.6 penalty minutes while allowing two goals per game with a .933 save percentage.

Blue Jackets: 8-1-1, averaging 2.6 goals, 3.4 assists, 2.2 penalties and 5.4 penalty minutes while giving up 1.3 goals per game with a .956 save percentage.