So far, the Tampa Bay Lightning are among the best teams in the Eastern Conference, while injuries are a big reason why the Columbus Blue Jackets are a long way from that.
The Lightning look to extend their longest winning streak of the season and send the Blue Jackets to their longest slide in three years Saturday night.
Tampa Bay (9-3-1) is tied with Pittsburgh and Montreal for first place in the East with 19 points, while Columbus' nine is only better than Buffalo's eight for the fewest in the league.
Buoyed by an offense that ranks second in the NHL with 3.62 goals per game, the Lightning are also very productive on the power play, operating at a 24.4 success rate.
They've been particularly outstanding during a four-game winning streak, scoring 20 goals while going 3 for 11 on the man advantage.
Steven Stamkos leads Tampa Bay with eight goals and is second with 13 points, scoring twice while adding three assists over the past four games. He was held pointless as four other members of the Lightning scored in Thursday's 5-2 win over Calgary.
"It's big if Stammer's line is not going, somebody else is picking that up," coach Jon Cooper said.
Cedric Paquette looks capable of playing that role. The rookie center netted his first two NHL goals Thursday after going without a point in his first four following his recall from Syracuse of the AHL.
"It's a great moment for me," Paquette said. "I think I will remember it for the rest of my life."
He had an assist in his only career meeting with Columbus (4-8-1) on April 11, when defenseman Eric Brewer scored twice in a 3-2 home victory. Stamkos was held without a point in his second consecutive contest against the Blue Jackets after collecting three goals and three assists in his first four matchups.
Blanking the star center again appears unlikely since Columbus has surrendered 28 goals during an 0-6-1 stretch. The Jackets haven't lost eight in a row since starting 0-7-1 in 2011-12.
They did pick up a point for the first time since Oct. 23 on Friday, getting two goals from Scott Hartnell in a 3-2 overtime loss at Carolina.
Columbus will try to end a three-game home skid but again will be missing a host of regulars. Forwards Nathan Horton (back), Brandon Dubinsky (abdominal surgery), Artem Anisimov (concussion) and Mark Letestu (groin) are all sidelined. Additionally, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and defenseman James Wisniewski are nursing broken fingers.
Jack Johnson is also serving the second of a three-game suspension for an illegal check to Carolina forward Jiri Tlusty's head.
Staying out of the penalty box would surely help. Columbus' 170 penalty minutes are among the most in the NHL, accumulating 110 in the past seven games while giving up nine power-play goals.
"We have to eliminate the penalties," coach Todd Richards said. "You aren't going to find ways to win hockey games. We can't keep doing this."
Tampa Bay's Ben Bishop is 5-0 with a 2.61 goals-against average in his last five starts overall, but backup Evgeni Nabokov is 20-5-3 with a 1.78 GAA lifetime against the Blue Jackets. He stopped 41 shots in a 2-0 victory against them March 23 for the New York Islanders.
