Tampa Bay Lightning at New Jersey Devils Game 3 Preview

The Matchup: The Tampa Bay Lightning (1-0 ; SBN Blog: Raw Charge) at the New Jersey Devils (0-2)

The Time: 7:30 PM EST

The Broadcast: TV - CNBC

The Series Preview: John’s in-depth series preview can be viewed here.

The Two-Game Trend: Our own John Fischer wrote about the Devils’ new and disturbing habit of being buried in these previous two games by goals in quick succession. You can read his article on that topic here.

The Last Game: New Jersey headed to the first intermission of game 2 locked in a 1-1 tie. By the second intermission it was a different game and one could feel that the Devils had once again put themselves too deep in the hole to rebound from. The Devils allowed four unanswered goals, and three goals in 2:47 early in the second period. Here’s John’s recap of that game.

Lineup Questions: I’d have to think there are some changes coming to the personnel New Jersey ices in game three. Michael Grabner finished the regular season in disappointing fashion, and has not been very useful throughout the two games played this series. Grabner played just over eight minutes on Saturday in a game where New Jersey dressed only eleven forwards. John Hynes and staff have not released any lineups as of yet (Go figure), but some news should come from the Devils morning skate, today at 10:30 AM EST. Who would you like to see sit/skate in game three?

Your Thoughts: New Jersey find themselves in a 2-0 hole. What adjustments need to be made going in to game three? How do the Devils avoid these mid-period collapses? Do you think New Jersey stays icing eleven forwards and seven defense? Post your comments below.