The Tampa Bay Lightning had an uphill battle in front of them as they made their way into the Nationwide Arena for Game 3 tonight. A less-than-stellar performance by the Lightning allowed the Columbus Blue Jackets to take a 2-0 lead in the series heading into tonight’s contest.
Let’s add in the fact that Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, who hasn’t looked like himself since taking the ice in Game 1, would miss Sunday’s game along with Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, who missed Game 3 after being suspended for his hit on Blue Jackets forward Markus Nutivaara in Game 2.