Tim Benz: As Penguins face Tampa Bay, plenty of reasons why the Lightning are in legit position for a '3-peat'

A brutal stretch of games for the Pittsburgh Penguins resumes Thursday night in Tampa Bay.

The Pens face the Lightning at 7 p.m., looking to win a third straight outing. Meanwhile, the Lightning have won five in a row. They are one of seven consecutive opponents for coach Mike Sullivan’s team currently in playoff spots.

This is the first meeting between the two clubs since they split a pair of games in October, each winning by four goals on the other team’s home ice.

Not much has changed for the Lightning since their past two runs through the playoffs. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions have 76 points. That’s good enough to lead the Metropolitan Division and trail only the Carolina Hurricanes (79 points) for most overall in the Eastern Conference.

What’s been clicking for the Bolts so far in 2021-22? Here’s a lengthy list as Tampa tries to press forward toward a three-peat.

• The Lightning have won 12 of their last 15 games dating back to Jan. 11. Of those three losses, one was a 3-2 defeat in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 10. They have 84 points, the most in the NHL. Another was a 3-2 shootout loss against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 29.

Their only multi-goal defeat in that stretch was a 5-1 loss to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on Jan. 21.

• Tampa Bay has only four regulation home losses on the season. That’s tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for the fewest in the Eastern Conference. The Avs have only three on the Western Conference side, the best in the NHL.

Of course, one of those regulation defeats was to the Penguins, 6-2, in the season opener on Oct. 12. Tampa got revenge 14 days later in Pittsburgh by a score of 5-1.

• The Penguins are currently fourth in the NHL when it comes to goals against per game at 2.60. The Lightning aren’t far behind at 2.73, in seventh place.

The league leader in that category is Carolina at 2.38. The Penguins play the Hurricanes in Raleigh on Friday.

• Tampa is also seventh in goal scoring, at 3.46 goals per contest. The Penguins are 11th at 3.20. Tampa accomplishes that without firing a ton of shots on net per game, just 30.0, 19th in the NHL.

The Lightning are better at shot suppression. Opposing teams only get 29.3 shots against them per game, the seventh fewest in hockey. The Penguins are only two spots higher at 30.3.

• There are some areas where the Lightning are average. They are at 49% as a team in faceoffs, 17th in the league. The power play is 17th at 20.3% and the penalty kill is 16th at 80.7%.

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• Penguins’ Kris Letang not focused on pending free agency, rumors of departure

However, Calgary is the only team in the NHL to have yielded fewer goals five-on-five thus far in the season. The Flames have only allowed 86 goals at five-on-five. The Lightning and Vancouver Canucks are next best at 90 each.

The Lightning take a lot of penalties, 213 so far. That’s the eight-most in hockey. They draw a lot too, though. At 219, that’s the fifth-best in the league.

• Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is tied with Carolina’s Frederik Andersen for the NHL lead in wins with 29. He is also seventh in goals against average (2.27), tied with Tristan Jarry for ninth in save percentage (.921).

• Steven Stamkos is on a five-game goal-scoring streak. In the seven games the Lightning have played since the All-Star Break, Stamkos has 7 goals and 9 points. He entered play Thursday tied with former Pittsburgh Hornet J.T. Miller for 12th in the NHL with 60 points.

Defenseman Victor Hedman started action Thursday night eighth in the NHL with 40 assists, two behind Kris Letang.

Pittsburgh native and former ESPN Pittsburgh radio host Greg Linnelli joins me for Thursday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. He’s now the game day host for the Tampa Bay Lightning Radio Network and the host of “Lightning Power Play Live.”

We discuss the Pens-Lightning matchup, the current hierarchy of the Eastern Conference, Stamkos’ hot streak and the Lightning’s rivalry with the Florida Panthers.

Listen: Tim Benz and Greg Linnelli talk Penguins-Lightning, plus Eastern standings and more