NHL Playoffs: Lightning vs. Blue Jackets Game 2 preview, stream, start time, TV channel and more

Here is everything you need to know ahead of Game 2 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets.

Game 1 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets was a marathon. The Lightning won Game 1 after Brayden Point scored the winner in the fifth overtime period. The game was the fourth-longest game in NHL history and took over six hours to complete.

In Game 2, Tampa is looking to take a commanding 2-0 series lead, while Columbus looks to even the series. Both teams will be hoping that the game can be decided in relegation after the majority of players were forced to log over 40 minutes of ice time.

The question for both teams will be which team’s goalie will be fresher in Game 2. In Game 1, Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo made an NHL record 85 saves in the loss. While Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy only faced 63 shots. While Vasilevskiy will almost certainly start Game 2, the same cannot be said for Korpisalo. In the qualifying round, Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella switched between Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Merzlikins was excellent in two games against Toronto, posting a .946 save percentage. Tortorella would be wise to at least consider going to Merzlikins in Game 2. The Latvian goalie has a strong rookie season and the extra rest for Korpisalo could pay dividends later in the series.

The goalies are not the only players who could be negatively impacted by having to play significantly more minutes in Game 1. Lightning coach Jon Cooper did a much better job balancing ice time among his top three forward lines and all three defensive pairings. While Tortorella leaned much heavier on his top two lines. The top two defensemen on Columbus, Seth Jones, and Zach Werenski both played over an hour. In comparison, Tampa’s top defenseman Victor Hedman played 7:28 fewer than Jones.

The Blue Jackets are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL playoffs. In the regular season, Columbus averaged 2.57 goals per game. Pierre-Luc Dubois will be key to a Game 2 win for the Blue Jackets. Dubois had a goal and an assist in Game 1 and will have to keep up his excellent playoff production this season if the Jackets are going to even the series.

Tampa’s biggest strength is its depth, despite being without captain Steven Stamkos. The Lightning was the highest-scoring in the regular season. Tampa Bay is being coy on the status of Stamkos but he is not expected to play in Game 2. Without Stamkos, the Lightning will have to rely on Yanni Gourde and Alex Killorn to pick up the slack.

How to watch Lightning vs. Blue Jackets Game 2

Date: Thursday, Aug. 13
Start Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Toronto, Ontario Canada
Stadium: Scotiabank Arena
TV info: NBCSN, SUN, FS-O, Sportsnet (Canada), TVAS (Canada)
Live Stream: NBC Sports Gold | FuboTV. | Sportsnet Now (Canada)