Hurting Tampa Bay ready for struggling Anaheim

The Tampa Bay Lightning could be without their top two offensive players when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.

Nikita Kucherov missed Thursday night's 4-2 win at the Chicago Blackhawks with an upper-body injury sustained against the St. Louis Blues two days earlier. Steven Stamkos didn't play after the first period Thursday because of a lower-body injury.

Stamkos leads the Lightning with 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) and Kucherov is tied for second with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists).

Stamkos and Kucherov finished first or second in scoring for Tampa Bay in each of the past two seasons and three of the past four.

"You can't replace those guys, you just can't," Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point told reporters after the win against Chicago. "They're world-class players."

The Lightning will be up against a frustrated Anaheim team that squandered a four-goal lead with just more than a minute left in the second period Thursday in a 5-4 overtime loss at the Florida Panthers. That dropped the Ducks to 1-4-3 in their past eight games.

Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins told reporters after the loss that the Ducks can't afford any lapses, such as the one they had when they allowed two goals in the final 67 seconds of that second period against Florida.

"There are some elite teams in this league. If they have a couple of guys who don't show up, they can still win," Eakins said. "We're not an elite team yet, and that's why we all have to be on it for every second of the game."

The Ducks likely will go with Ryan Miller as the starting goalie in the finale of the four-game road trip. John Gibson started the past four games and has seen his numbers drop off following a stellar start to the season.

After allowing two goals or fewer in six of his first seven starts, Gibson has given up 21 goals in his past five outings.

The Ducks also have been without two of their top defensemen, Josh Manson and Hampus Lindholm. But Lindholm returned to practice Friday and is hoping to return against the Lightning after missing the past six games with a lower-body injury.

Ducks forward Rickard Rakell got off to a slow start with eight points (three goals, five assists) in 14 games in October, but he has eight points (four goals, four assists) in nine games in November, including five points (two goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak.

The Lightning have two players riding six-game point streaks -- center Alex Killorn and defenseman Victor Hedman.

Killorn has three goals and six assists in the past six games. Hedman has two goals and seven assists in that span.

After finishing with three players in the top 11 in goals last season, Tampa Bay doesn't have a player in the top 70 heading into the weekend. The Lightning have 12 players with at least four goals, however.

"That's just kind of been how we've been winning games this year," Point said. "Every line, every guy, chipping in."

--Field Level Media