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VANCOUVER Arizona Coyotes T-Shirts Womens , British Columbia —do not have much trouble with offense.But, lately, defense has been a different story.The Lightning (25-7-2), which sit first overall in the NHL and leads the league in goals with 138, has surrendered 15 markers in its last three games.Article continues below ...Assistant coach Derek Lalonde, standing in for head coach Jon Cooper after a practice in Vancouver on Monday, noted there is a need to emphasize offense in today’s NHL. But he said the Bolts will be putting the onus on defense in Tuesday’s game against the Canucks (16-16-4).“There’s a fine line of thinking offense, playing offense (and) instinctively playing offense, but not giving up on the other end – and we’ve crossed it at times,” said Lalonde.The Bolts are looking to rebound after Sunday’s 5-4 overtime loss in Winnipeg ended their winning streak at eight games.“(It’s) probably a good lesson learned,” said Lalonde of the close loss against one of the NHL’s best clubs. “I would say we’ve been getting away with (loose play), but we’ve had some games where we got away with (wins). It was through great goaltending or a last-second defensive save.”Lalonde said defenseman and forwards alike have to think about defense collectively.“Our guys have done a pretty good job of self-evaluating, knowing when to tighten (play) up and when they’ve left (the defensive effort) out there,” said Lalonde. “The last couple games, we’ve left it out there a little more.”The Lightning regarded the game against Winnipeg as a litmus test for their season. The Canucks pose much less of a challenge than the Jets Arizona Coyotes Hoodies Womens , but Vancouver has won five of its past six games, including back-to-back home games on the weekend against Philadelphia and a surging Edmonton squad.“They’re a good team,” said Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman of the Canucks. “Just from watching from the sidelines a little bit, offensively, they’ve been going for a while and we know they can score goals.”The Canucks have averaged four goals per game in their last quartet of contests. In the game before those four, they scored six times.“We have a lot of sharpshooters out there and a lot of guys who can put the puck in the net, so it was just a matter of time before (the goals) started flooding in,” center Bo Horvat, 25, told reporters.After being considered a playoff after-thought, the Canucks have moved into the wild-card discussion. Tuesday’s contest against the NHL’s best club will serve as a potential benchmark after the Canucks achieved a high standard in Sunday’s win over the Oilers.“I would say it was one of our better games of the year,” said Vancouver coach Travis Green.Consequently, the Lightning has probably picked a good time to think more about defense. The Pittsburgh Penguins talk a lot about turning the page from one game to the next, but they also have had several outings that sting enough to linger.They are at the latter point going into a game Friday against Boston (17-10-4).Pittsburgh (13-11-6) had points in four straight games before falling 6-3 on Wednesday at Chicago, which entered the game last in the NHL with nine wins and riding an eight-game losing streak Arizona Coyotes Hats Womens , and played the night before.Article continues below ...“To not have the fire or whatever, the jump, I don’t know if there’s an excuse for that,” Penguins forward Matt Cullen said after returning for that game from a lower-body injury.Pittsburgh had some feel-good moments in the game, erasing an early two-goal deficit and getting a hat trick from Bryan Rust, who busted a 20-game goal drought.But for what is far from the first time this season, the Penguins find themselves fighting the frustration of some deficiencies that keep cropping up — defensive lapses, critical penalties, poor puck management and a lack of an offensive response at key times.It’s not all of those things all the time, but it’s enough of them enough of the time to be concerning to them.“We’re trying to build some traction here,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’ve played a lot of good hockey over the last three or four weeks. We’re trying to string some wins together and points together and (produce) momentum. When you have a night like (Wednesday), it sets you back.“I thought we gave up more odd-man rushes than we did in the last three or four weeks.”Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray (lower body) came off injured reserve Wednesday and dressed as the backup to Casey DeSmith. It’s not clear who will start against the Bruins.Boston has won three straight.Bruins center Ryan Donato has never faced Pittsburgh, and his impression of the club that has won three Stanley Cups since 2009 remains strong.“It’s one of those talented NHL teams that capitalize on every mistake,” Donato said. “I look up and down their lineup and they have a lot of superstars, so I think for us we’ve got to come in with a mentality of being really hungry and prepared to play some defense Custom Arizona Coyotes Jerseys , but also not make any mistakes.”Boston is moving toward being healthier.While winger Jake DeBrusk has gone into concussion protocol and will sit out Friday, winger David Backes has had no lingering effects from being cut in the face Tuesday and is expected to play Friday.Backes took a skate to the face during a 4-3 win over Arizona. He returned to the game after receiving stitches.“No worse for wear,” Backes said Thursday. “It could have been a lot worse looking at the video and knowing that there’s some sharp apparatus right by my moneymaker, my face.”Center Sean Kuraly did not practice after having a minor procedure on his broken nose, the result of a fight Sunday against Ottawa’s Ben Harpur. Coach Bruce Cassidy said Kuraly was questionable to probable to face Pittsburgh and might need to add some extra facial protection.Meanwhile, center Patrice Bergeron (rib, sternoclavicular injury) and defenseman Zdeno Chara (left MCL injury) skated before practice, and defenseman Kevan Miller (throat) practiced in a limited capacity.“He’s practicing in a non-contact jersey, so he’s able to do that, so that’s good,” Cassidy said of Miller. “He’ll obviously have to get cleared for contact.”