With the regular season winding down, the Tampa Bay Lightning are heating up just at the right time. The 40-25-7 Bolts have won 2 straight, are 8-1-1 over their last 10, and have outscored their opponents 42-26 over that span. Tonight in the Cigar City, Tampa will be hosting the 31-26-15 New York Islanders. New York is still alive in the wild card hunt but barely. The Islanders did win their last outing against a very good Florida Panthers team but they still have just 2 wins in their last 9 tries and are 15-16-5 on the road this season. The Lightning beat the Islanders last month, 4-2, on Long Island. Tampa has won 3 straight at Amalie Arena and is an impressive 22-9-4 on the season at home.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING