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Lightning, Capitals Set to Meet at the Verizon Center |
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The Tampa Bay Lightning (17-10-2) organization will look to rebound from Saturday’s disappointing 2-1 overtime tonight, as they take on the Washington Capitals (16-12-2) at the Verizon Center. Once Southeast Division rivals, the Bolts and Caps now find themselves in different divisions. Tampa currently sits in the Eastern Conference’s first wildcard spot, while Washington is comfortably seated inside the Metropolitan Division’s top three. Tonight’s game, the first of three meetings between the two foes this year, is a big one for both clubs.
Following the Lightning’s underwhelming performance versus the Jets on Saturday, head coach Jon Cooper once again decided to play around with his line combinations. According to Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times, the new lines should look something like this:
Palat-Johnson-St. Louis
Killorn-Filppula-Purcell
Brown-Thompson-Kucherov
Panik-Crombeen
As you can see, the team will once again dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Richard Panik has drawn back into the lineup, while PC Labrie remains out with the flu. On defense, Victor Hedman will sit this one out as he continues to rehabilitate from an injury. Ben Bishop will get the start in net for the Lightning.
With a record of 3-5-2 in their last ten games, the Steven Stamkos-less Lightning have been plodding along at a less-than-stellar pace. For that to change, the group will need to start generating much more offense; Tampa has been held to one goal or less in three of its last four games. Against a Washington team that has shown a penchant for allowing goals this year, the Bolts might just have a chance to break out.
While they have allowed 2.77 goals against per game this year, the Capitals are manufacturing good results right now. Having won four of their last five games, they are putting up points and solidifying their position in the Metropolitan. As people around the league have come to expect over the last couple of years, the Capitals’s offensive prowess is really the straw that’s stirring their drink.
Outside of the usual suspects (read: Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom), a lot of the Capitals’s success can be attributed to the stellar play of Mikhail Grabovski. After being unfairly cast aside by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the summer, Grabovski joined the Capitals and has done nothing but produce. Through 30 games this season, he has tallied 25 points. In addition, he's been a quality possession player while going up against tough competition. Ironically, he’s the exact sort of player the Leafs could really use right now.
All in all, tonight’s game is going to be a tough one for the Lightning. As Riley pointed out, this Washington group is a high-scoring team. The Lightning, for their part, are struggling to put the puck in the net right now. It’s going to take a strong defensive effort and some stellar goaltending to get a win tonight, unless the guys up front can pot a few goals.
As always, thanks for reading.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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