Early look The full preview opens on Tuesday 2 March, three days before puck drop, with the expected goalies, the latest team news and game-day prices. Until then this page shows the matchup as it stands.
Early look · NHL 2026-27

Tampa Bay Lightning at Anaheim Ducks: game preview

Puck drop5 Mar · 10:00 PM ET
VenueHonda Center
All-time meetings49 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Fourteen points apart last season

Tampa Bay finished last season 5th in the league on 106 points. Anaheim finished 18th on 92.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 50

Across 49 completed games, Tampa Bay lead the head-to-head 29-15-5.

All-time record29-15-5Tampa Bay's record in the series
Meetings played49This is number 50
2025-26 series—
Last 54-1Tampa Bay
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
31 Dec 2025TBL 4 – ANA 3 OT——TBL
25 Oct 2025ANA 3 – TBL 4——TBL
16 Jan 2025ANA 3 – TBL 4 SO——TBL
5 Jan 2025TBL 1 – ANA 4——ANA
24 Mar 2024TBL 3 – ANA 2 OT——TBL
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateTampa BayAnaheim
25 Oct 20252-4-2 · 6 pts30th4-3-1 · 9 pts16th
31 Dec 202523-13-3 · 49 pts6th21-16-3 · 45 pts15th

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 25 Oct 2025, Tampa Bay were 30th in the league and Anaheim 16th. By 31 Dec 2025 it was 6th and 15th.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Tampa Bay out-attempted Anaheim 130 to 125

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

Tampa Bay Lightning

130 att · 62 on goal · 8 G · 12.9%
Crease11 att · 1 G
Slot50 att · 5 G
Wing48 att · 2 G
Point16 att · 0 G
Neutral zone5 att · 0 G

Anaheim Ducks

125 att · 68 on goal · 6 G · 8.8%
Crease8 att · 0 G
Slot39 att · 4 G
Wing54 att · 2 G
Point20 att · 0 G
Neutral zone4 att · 0 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

Anaheim have created the better chances, last 10 games

Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.

Tampa BayAnaheim
4.04xG for per game2.19
2.64xG against per game3.49
60.5%xG share38.6%
−4.1FinishingGoals minus expected goals+2.6
+0.9GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed+2.0

This season: 3 games for Tampa Bay, 2 for Anaheim. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →


Special teams

Power play and penalty kill, season and series

This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.

All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings

Tampa Bay

Small sample
Power play · 2026-270.0%
Power play · 2025-2620.7% · 17th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2785.7%
Penalty kill · 2025-2682.6% · 3rd
Faceoffs · 2026-2748.2% · 81/168
Drawn · 2026-2713 (4.33/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-277 (2.33/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Anaheim

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2750.0%
Power play · 2025-2618.6% · 23rd
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2785.7%
Penalty kill · 2025-2676.4% · 27th
Faceoffs · 2026-2743.9% · 50/114
Drawn · 2026-276 (3.00/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-277 (3.50/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
86Nikita Kucherov31341.33
59Jake Guentzel31231.00
38Brandon Hagel31231.00
91Leo Carlsson21452.50
61Cutter Gauthier22242.00
64Mikael Granlund21121.00
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
74John Carlson30220.67
27Ryan McDonagh30000.00
67Tristan Luneau20110.50
47Noah Warren20110.50
Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Expected starter after their game on 3 Mar: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 1 Mar: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Tampa Bay crease

TBL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 2 Mar

Andrei Vasilevskiy.8983 GP · 2-1-0 · GSAx +1.0

No appearances against Anaheim in the last meetings.

Anaheim crease

ANA · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 2 Mar

Lukas Dostal.9182 GP · 2-0-0 · GSAx +2.0

No appearances against Tampa Bay in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.5 goals

No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.

Goals in the last 5 meetings

31 Dec 20257 · TBL 4–3 ANA
25 Oct 20257 · ANA 3–4 TBL
16 Jan 20257 · ANA 3–4 TBL
5 Jan 20255 · TBL 1–4 ANA
24 Mar 20245 · TBL 3–2 ANA

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Tampa Bay2.672.333.542.82
Anaheim3.502.503.333.51

Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.

Scoring rates suggest6.5Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings6.2Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

6 on the injury lists

Tampa Bay · injuries

Dominic JamesHandIRReturn8 Oct
Emil LillebergUndisclosedOutReturn13 Oct
Yanni GourdeHipIRReturn2 Dec

Anaheim · injuries

Drew HellesonLower BodyIRReturn7 Oct
Ian MooreLower BodyIRReturn16 Oct
Troy TerryHipIRReturn21 Nov
6 Oct · TBL

Placed C Jansen Harkins on waivers.

27 Sep · TBL

Placed D Michael Callahan on waivers.

27 Sep · TBL

Placed D Michael Callahan, G Mads Sogaard Nielsenon, LD Maxim Groshev, LW Jakob Pelletier and C Nicholas Abruzzese on waivers.

1 Oct · ANA

Signed D Tristan Luneau to a six-year contract extension.

30 Sep · ANA

Reassigned C Roger McQueen and C Cruz Lucius to San Diego (AHL). Recalled D Noah Warren, D Ian Mitchell and D Tristan Luneau from San Diego. Placed D Drew Helleson on injured reserve. Moved RW Troy Terry from the non-roster list to long-term injured reserve.

27 Sep · ANA

Placed G Laurent Brossoit and D Travis Mitchell on waivers.

Injury report
#52Oleg KulebiakinRound 2 · HalifaxRW
#90Tomas KralovicRound 3 · BratislavaD
#134Morgan AnderbergRound 5 · VaxjoC
#154Cooper SollerRound 5 · Sioux FallsC
Full draft
#15Nikita KlepovRound 1 · SaginawRW
#28Marcus NordmarkRound 1 · Djurgarden Jr.LW
#45Jayden KurtzRound 2 · RogersD
#50Mathis PrestonRound 2 · VancouverRW
Full draft

Updated after every final