Winnipeg @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 16, 2018 ) Tampa Bay 4, Winnipeg 5

Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler and the Lightning defense corps look to follow up memorable performances when the Jets visit NHL-best Tampa Bay for a showdown of two of the league’s top teams Tuesday night. Wheeler scored a career-high four goals in Sunday’s 5-2 victory at Columbus to open a four-game trip while the Lightning received four tallies and nine points from their blueline for an 11th win in the last 12 contests Saturday against Ottawa.

Defensemen Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak and Mikhail Sergachev each scored in the 5-1 victory for Tampa Bay, which tied the NHL record for the fastest to 50 wins in a season (66 games) set by the Detroit Red Wings in 1995-96. “(Four defensemen scoring) shows the forwards obviously are doing a good job of getting us involved offensively, and we’re getting shots through,” Hedman told reporters. “Guys are roaming around in the offensive zone, and I think my goal is a perfect example of when you get moving in the offensive zone, that can create confusion.” Wheeler’s performance Sunday, which helped earn the NHL’s Second Star of the Week, gave him five goals to go along with seven assists in his last six contests and the Jets have won two in a row after a 1-4-1 slump to remain one point ahead of second-place Nashville in the Central Division. “The score sheet is part of our job, but we kind of pride ourselves on the little details of the game,” Wheeler told reporters of his line with Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine. “That’s the rewarding part, trying to make an impact, try to get the good feeling in our room, continue it on our road trip.”

TV: 7:30 p.m., TSN3 (Winnipeg), FS Sun (Tampa Bay)

ABOUT THE JETS (39-22-4): Wheeler reached 80 points for the second straight season, and is 11 shy of his career-high of 91 while sitting second in the league with 63 assists - behind only Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (75). Scheifele has also been on a hot streak with a pair of goals, five assists and a plus-7 rating in the last three games to push his season total to 75 points - seven away from his career high set in 2016-17. Laine is warming up as well with four goals in the past five contests to pull within one of 30 and fellow forward Kyle Connor has six points (three goals) in six games.

ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (50-12-4): Kucherov recorded seven of his league-leading 106 points in the past five games and is two shy of the franchise’s single-season record set by Vincent Lecavalier in 2006-07. Captain Steven Stamkos has not scored in six games - despite setting up five tallies in that span - and remains two goals behind Lecavalier (383) for the club’s all-time scoring record. Hedman reached 40 points (41) for the fourth straight season after posting four (two goals) in the past three games while fellow defenseman Ryan McDonagh (33 points) leads the team with a plus-27 rating.

OVERTIME

1. Winnipeg LW Nikolaj Ehlers has six goals and three assists in seven career games against the Lightning.

2. Tampa Bay G Andrei Vasilevskiy boasts nine straight wins to reach 30 - fourth in the league - and is 10-0-2 in his last 12 starts.

3. Scheifele’s overtime goal beat the Lightning 5-4 on Dec.16 as four of the past seven meetings have gone past regulation.

PREDICTION: Lightning 4, Jets 3