The set-up: The top-two teams in the league come together for a mid-season matchup on Thursday night when the 29-11-3 Vegas Golden Knights (61 points) visit the 31-10-3 Tampa Bay Lightning (65 points). This marks the Lightning's only home game in a span of 27 days, as they come out of the league-mandated five-day break. Tampa Bay has not played since Jan. 11, when it suffered a 5-1 setback against Calgary and lost All-Star defenseman Victor Hedman for three-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury. The Lightning will play four contests away from home before the All-Star Game on Jan. 28 and then go back out on the road for the next four. The Golden Knights hope to sweep the season series after defenseman Shea Theodore's power-play goal - their fourth with the man advantage in the contest - with 2.3 seconds to go gave them a 4-3 victory over the Lightning on Dec. 19. However, Vegas comes in having having dropped two games in a row for the first time since losing three straight between Nov. 28-Dec. 1.

Vegas: The Golden Knights suffered a 3-2 overtime loss at Edmonton on Saturday and then lost 1-0 Tuesday at Nashville. "You can't dwell on it," Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch told reporters after his team outshot the Predators 43-27. "We've got to move on. We've got a tough game Thursday against the best team in the league." Vegas is the third-highest scoring team in the league (3.33 GPG) but all of a sudden has managed just four goals in its last three games (is 0-for-14 on the power play over the past five!). However, center William Karlsson continues to produce with three goals in four contests and eight in 10. Karlsson leads the team with 23 goals and has 37 points, four behind team leader and former Lightning forward Jonathan Marchessault (16 goals and 41 points). Forward Tomas Nosek (upper-body) left Tuesday's game and returned to Vegas for evaluation while defenseman Jason Garrison, acquired from Tampa Bay last June, was recalled Wednesday.

Tampa Bay: The Lightning still have six more points than anyone in the Eastern Conference, despite enjoying the week off. Head coach Jon Cooper reshuffled his defense pairs with Hedman out, as Slater Koekkoek appears to have moved into the top-six while partnering with Anton Stralman at practice Wednesday. Braydon Coburn was also paired with Jake Dotchin at practice and rookie Mikhail Sergachev with Daniel Girardi, who is expected to return after missing two games when he was stuck in the neck with a slap shot in Detroit. Right wing Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL with 60 points (27 G & 33 A), as well as the NHL's top-scoring offense (3.61 GPG). Tampa Bay also ranks third in goals allowed (2.50 per), which is a nice 'daily double!'

The pick: Vegas not only enters this game having lost consecutive games of any kind for the first time since Nov. 28-30 but the typically high-scoring Golden Knights have also scored just four goals in the past three games, after getting shut out in Nashville on Tuesday. A contest in Amelie Arena with the Lightning (playing on home ice for the only time in a 27-day span!), who are 17-4-1 at home this season while averaging 3.73 goals, is NOT the way to 'get well!' Make Tampa Bay an 8* play.