After five, yes five, straight losses, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been handed a golden chance to get back in the win column. The Washington Capitals are back for another tilt at the Tampa Bay Times Forum after losing here 6-3 on opening night.

For the Lightning, tonight’s game against an opponent that has struggled mightily to start the season couldn’t come at a better time. As mentioned, the Bolts have lost five straight games and seem shot of all confidence. Passes aren’t crisp, the forecheck isn’t intimidating, and the scorers aren’t converting. Given that the Lightning have already had success against the Capitals this season, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that a “rejuvenated” group might hit the ice. Simply put – it should be incredibly easy for the Lightning to get up for a game against a division rival that has had a real tough go this year.

All that said – as of right now – the Lightning and Capitals are heading in opposite directions. Despite immense struggles throughout the lineup through their first 13 games, the Capitals have won two straight games. While the performances were far from perfect, wins are wins in the NHL and the Capitals have two more than the Lightning do in recent days. As they say in golf – there are no pictures on the scorecard. While the Lightning have struggled, the Capitals have themselves on a mini win streak.

While it’s easy to simply look at the standings and say that this is a guaranteed win for the Lightning, that’s just not the case. Given the effort put forth in the Lightning’s last handful of games, no contest can be considered a guaranteed win. In fact, it wouldn’t be unfair to classify the Lightning as the underdog heading into this one. As much as the Lightning’s talent impresses on paper, the reality is that guys like Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, et al are playing without an ounce of confidence. Combine that with a visibly frustrated head coach and all of a sudden things don’t look too good for your Tampa Bay Lightning.

Even though the Lightning nearly managed to complete the comeback in their last game against the Montreal Canadiens, things are far from rosy in Bolts Nation. It’s entirely possible that a Capitals team that finally looks more comfortable under Adam Oates will come in and dominate a listless Lightning squad.

Add to recent history the fact that Alexander Ovechkin seems to be waking up, and things start to get real ugly from the Bolts’ perspective. With three goals and seven points in his last five games, ‘The Great Eight’ is starting to show the speed, tenacity, and scoring prowess that made him the penultimate threat in the NHL just a few short years ago. With the Lightning struggling from top to bottom, watch out for Ovechkin.

It’s hard to emphasize in words just how important tonight’s game is for the Lightning. Currently in 9th place in the East, the Lightning find themselves with 13 points and a full two points back of the Carolina Hurricanes for the division lead. It begs the question – what’s the difference between this year’s team and last’s? Right now, there’s not a whole lot of difference.

After starting the season 6-1-0, the Lightning have fallen victim to their ugly tendencies; having ugly tendencies rear their ugly heads has hurt this team. The fact of the matter is that the Lightning have been outplayed, out-coached, and outworked for the better part of two weeks. With all the talent on this roster, that’s just not acceptable. Something has got to give.

As always, thanks for reading. Predictions?

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