Injuries on Tampa Bay's blueline gave D'Astous a chance to draw into the lineup, and he has impressed with his opportunity in his first NHL season, earning a one-year, $875,000 contract extension. The 27-year-old defenseman is averaging 19:05 time-on-ice and has 13 points (3G / 10A) in 33 games this season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy will get the night off in favour of Jonas Johansson on Thursday as the Lightning play their second game in as many nights. Johansson secured the victory in his last start, allowing four goals on 35 shots in a 5-4 shootout win over the Habs on Sunday. The 30-year-old netminder boasts an 8-6-1 record and .896 SV% on the season. The Lightning enter action on Thursday at +100 on the money line.
Groshev made his NHL debut in Tampa Bay's previous game and recorded an assist in 13:03 time-on-ice. The 24-year-old defenseman was a third-round draft pick of the Lightning in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Dominic James will re-enter Anaheim's lineup on Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks, resulting in Finley being a healthy scratch. The 23-year-old Finley is averaging 8:57 time-on-ice and has three points (2G / 1A) in 13 games this season.
Jack Finley will be a healthy scratch on Wednesday, allowing James to re-enter the lineup against the Anaheim Ducks. The 23-year-old James is averaging 12:16 time-on-ice and has seven points (2G / 5A) in 23 games this season.
Vasilevskiy has won three straight and will return to the crease on Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks. The 31-year-old Vasilevskiy has a 2.30 GAA and .913 SV% in 23 games this season (14-7-2). Even better, he has an elite 1.64 GAA and .937 SV% in his last 11 games (9-2-0).
Cernak has not played in over a month but should return to the lineup on Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks. The 28-year-old hard-hitting Slovak defenseman has four assists, 40 hits, and 43 blocks in 19 games this season.
Johansson had a heavy workload at the start of December while Andrei Vasilevskiy was injured, but he returns to the crease on Sunday for the first time in two weeks. The 30-year-old Johansson has been serviceable in a supporting role this season, posting a 2.76 GAA and .897 SV% in 15 appearances (7-6-1).
Vasilevskiy stopped 23 of 24 shots that he faced in the Lightning's 4-1 win over the Blues on Monday. Since returning to the Lightning crease last Thursday, Vasilevskiy has gone 2-1-0 with an .894 SV%. Tonight he'll start in Florida in a coin-flip game (-105 each side). Vasilevskiy has gone 4-2-2 with a 2.38 GAA and .917 SV% in eight road games this season.
Moser was key piece of the Mikhail Sergachev trade in 2024 and has been outstanding on the Lightning's blueline in 2026. Moser and Darren Raddysh have formed one of the best defensive pairings in the NHL, leading the league in xGF% (64.3%) of pairings with at least 150 minutes together.
McDonagh reportedly reaggravated the injury that cost him an extended period of time in late-November/early-December and will not play on Saturday. McDonagh is considered day-to-day and will be replaced by Steven Santini in the lineup vs. the Panthers.
