Tampa Bay @ Vancouver 10:00 PM ET TSN,SUN

[rats19]

Last 10: Tampa Bay 6-2-2; Vancouver 7-1-2

Season series: This is the first of two games between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver Canucks. They haven't faced each other since Jan. 10, 2012, a 5-4 shootout win for Vancouver at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Big story: The Lightning hope 2014 brings them the return of star scorer Steven Stamkos sooner rather than later, though for the time being they're managing just fine without him. The Canucks are surging as well and have hardly missed a beat with rookie Eddie Lack filling in for Roberto Luongo.

Team Scope:

Lightning: This is the start of a four-game Canadian road trip for Tampa Bay, with trips to face the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets forthcoming in the next week. The Lightning dropped seven straight on the road at one point after Stamkos broke his leg, but they carry a three-game road winning streak into the new year.

However, the Lightning will be looking to get back in the win column after going 0-1-1 on a brief homestand. They gave up three power-play goals on as many opportunities Sunday in a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers.

"We have to get back to pushing the pace and keeping the puck moving forward," captain Martin St. Louis said. "We did that in the third period [against the Rangers] and gave ourselves a chance. It seems like since the break we've lost a little bit of our identity."

Canucks: Despite allowing a late lead slip to away and falling 4-3 in a shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, the month of December was good to Vancouver, featuring a 10-1-2 record that helped move the Canucks from a fringe contender for the Stanley Cup Playoffs into solid top-eight positioning.

The Canucks are fourth in the NHL with a 2.24 team goals-against average. Lack, who has started the past two games, has a 1.84 GAA in 13 appearances.

"I like the way we are playing," forward Daniel Sedin said in the Vancouver Sun after the loss Monday. "You can say we are not scoring enough, but we are winning games. I like the way we play, we play really solidly defensively. It's a good feeling in this room, we know we are not giving up a lot of chances and that's the way I think we have to play. Goals are going to come. We are finding ways to win. We didn't do it tonight but I think we have so far."

Who's hot: Valtteri Filppula has four goals and six assists in his past seven games for the Lightning. Tyler Johnson has two goals and one assist during a three-game point streak. … Jannik Hansen has goals in consecutive games for the Canucks. Dan Hamhuis has four assists in the past three games.

Injury report: Tampa Bay defensemen Eric Brewer (arm) and Sami Salo (upper body) remain day-to-day. Stamkos (leg), defenseman Keith Aulie (hand) and forward Ryan Malone (ankle) are on injured reserve. … Luongo (lower body) is day-to-day for Vancouver. Defenseman Ryan Stanton (ankle) is out indefinitely. Defenseman Alexander Edler (lower body) and forwards Jordan Schroeder (ankle) and Alexandre Burrows (jaw) are on injured reserve.

[Todd Bersnoozi]

Nice game day summary ratz. I almost had tixs to this game.

[rats19]

I stole the GD info from NHL.com

My next live game is canucks @ coyotes the 16 th

[Arachnid]

We win this we are 3rd in division and 1 point behind 2nd. Didn't look like that a couple of months ago and the bandwagon driver that jumped had to find his tools in the mud (I sound like Topper )

[rats19]

Nice....good job boys

[rats19]

Crazy half minute of hockey

[Arachnid]

Grrrrrrr 2.6

We are due for a strong 3rd.....

[rats19]

yah that sucked..2 chances to get it out..looked like hamhuis? was trying very hard not to put it over the glass on the first attempt. We need to win this game cuz I said so...

[mathonwy]

For fucks sake.

We are not going ANYWHERE in the post season with such a horrible power play.

Its laughable but we are yet again coming to the point that we are killing our own momentum going on the power play.

How about stop worrying about the the damn shoot out and start working on the power play.

[rats19]

Good start to the third

[rats19]

Shit shit shit

[Lancer]

I stopped watching after the 2nd period. This kind of game was lurking about the past week. I would not want to be in the dressing room post-game, because Torts has every right to peel the paint off the walls after a game like that.

The schedule does not get any easier over the next couple of weeks, so the boys better wake up. Something`s gotta give with that PP. It just shits up 2 minutes.

Bleah...

[Todd Bersnoozi]

I heard one of the SportsNet guys (not Taylor, that other guy) say the "Lack Attack" was starting.

Not our best game. The next couple weeks will be a good test for our guys as we play the kings and ducks like 2X each and the penguins and blues are in there too. If Lou is not back soon and Lack Attack Pack gets the bulk of the games, we're going to quickly find out what he's made of and if he's really NHL ready. Not his best game tonite, but our guys were not very good in front of him.

On other note, nice to see Slamin Sami Salo in the house. Also, our 4th line might of been our best line tonite. Sesitito-Dalpe-Weiser seem to be gettin some chemistry. Dalpe with his first as a Nuck and Sestito continues his point steak. I think I prefer Welsch on that line, more muscle, but Dalpe is probably a better player and better scoring threat.

[Topper]

I would like to thank Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment for their generosity serving turkey to all Canuck fans on New Years Day.

[Meds]

I heard one of the SportsNet guys (not Taylor, that other guy) say the "Lack Attack" was starting.

Not our best game. The next couple weeks will be a good test for our guys as we play the kings and ducks like 2X each and the penguins and blues are in there too. If Lou is not back soon and Lack Attack Pack gets the bulk of the games, we're going to quickly find out what he's made of and if he's really NHL ready. Not his best game tonite, but our guys were not very good in front of him.

On other note, nice to see Slamin Sami Salo in the house. Also, our 4th line might of been our best line tonite. Sesitito-Dalpe-Weiser seem to be gettin some chemistry. Dalpe with his first as a Nuck and Sestito continues his point steak. I think I prefer Welsch on that line, more muscle, but Dalpe is probably a better player and better scoring threat.

This is a classic example of why Vancouver is considered a goaltender's graveyard. A young guy plays a good game and gets beat because the team in front of him is shit, and people say, "not his best game" like he is somehow culpable.

The Canucks came out of the gate with all of the intensity of cold mashed potatoes. Lack closed the door early until Tortorella called the timeout and rallied the troops, but even then the Canucks didn't really seem into this one until Richardson broke the ice in the second period, but that didn't last, and a brief resurgence after Dalpe tied it was all we saw from a team that was still sitting at home with their families and thinking about Christmas.

Filppula's goal was Booth's fault, he didn't take his man and then instead of going down to block the shot he stands in the perfect position to screen Lack and Filppula wires a wrister between Booth's legs that Lack can't even see coming until it's already past him. Lack's reaction was pretty evident of how impressed he was with Booth on that one.

20 seconds later the Lightning took the lead on a 2-on-1 that Lack didn't have a chance on. Garrison dropped too early to eliminate the pass and Palat just skated past him and made a perfect pass.

The only goal I think he maybe could have had was the third one, and that was an absolute missile from in close that was perfectly placed.

The fourth goal was a deflection in the slot and through a screen. From behind the goal I though Hamhuis tipped it, it wasn't until I saw it from the blueline that I could see that it was actually Kucherov that got it.

That game could have easily seen the Canucks surrender 7 goals if not for some of the brilliant saves Lack made.

On the other end Bishop made a few key saves, but the outside of our 3rd and 4th line the Canuck forwards weren't looking like they were ready to finish New Year's dinner, let alone a scoring play.

With Yzerman watching, Hamhuis turned in a very good game and made a case to be the 8th man on Canada's blueline in Socchi, he definitely wears when asked to eat 30 minutes and then play 20+ the next night.