WHEN/WHERE: 3; St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa. TV/RADIO: Sunshine; WDAE-AM 620.
THE SERIES: Second of two meetings. The Lightning won 1-0 Oct. 23. The Lightning leads the overall series 3-1-1-0.
KEY INJURIES: Columbus - G Fred Brathwaite (groin, day to day); D Jaroslav Spacek (groin, out); D Duvie Westcott (ankle, out); RW Tyler Wright (ribs, out). Tampa Bay - None.
THE LOWDOWN: Things were going the Lightning's way the last time the teams met. Vinny Lecavalier scooped up a loose puck goaltender Marc Denis botched with three minutes left and scored on a wraparound to make the Lightning 5-0 and the league's only unbeaten team. ... Tampa Bay (15-13-6-1) is now six points behind first-place Atlanta in the Southeast Division and four behind Montreal (after play Wednesday) for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. ... With a 2-2 home tie against Florida on Wednesday, Tampa Bay is 2-6-2 in its past 10, 1-2-2 in its past five. ... Columbus has lost 11 of 13 after a 1-0 home defeat by San Jose on Wednesday. The Blue Jackets are last in the Central Division and have the fewest points (25) in the NHL. Columbus has an NHL-low one road victory this season (at Chicago on Dec. 26). Second-year right wing Rick Nash leads the NHL with 23 goals, accounting for 31 percent of his team's 74. David Vyborny (12) is the only other Blue Jacket with more than six.
