The Lightning are coming off one of their most solid performances out of their last handful of games, defeating the Winnipeg Jets by a 5-2 score two nights ago. Although they were facing a defensively banged up Jets team, the Bolts managed to take down the Central Division leaders decisively with contributions coming throughout the lineup.
Most notably, the Bolts’ fourth line of Mathieu Joseph, Cedric Paquette and Adam Erne provided the “gut punch factor” – those gritty, physical shifts that can help wear a team a down. Paquette is the leader when it comes to taking the grinder role, with his ability to exert hits and get underneath the opposition’s skin – he logged eight penalty minutes in the Jets matchup.