The Tampa Bay Lightning are set to kick off a five-game road trip tonight, as they are in Washington for a date with the Capitals. This game comes only four days after the Capitals beat the Bolts by a score of 5-3 at Amalie Arena in Tampa; the Lightning will be looking to return the ‘favor’ tonight.
After losing back-to-back home games earlier this week, Tampa bounced back with an interesting 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. Great goaltending from Evgeni Nabokov and two weird goals from Nikita Kucherov helped propel the team to its 19th win of the 2014-15 campaign.
The Capitals, for their part, continue to plod along in a seriously weak Metropolitan Division. With a record of 13-10-5 (read: 13 wins and 15 losses), the Capitals sit in the Metro’s third spot. Under the old standings system, Washington would barely be clinging to the eighth and final spot in the East. It just goes to show what playing in a division with New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Carolina, and Columbus can do for a team’s playoff hopes.
If there is one thing the Lightning know about the Capitals, however, it’s that the team is probably better than its record indicates. As the Bolts learned in that game earlier this week, the Capitals have the ability to compete with and beat the best teams in the league. When the Barry Trotz defensive system works and combines with the explosive offensive talent laden throughout the Washington roster, the Capitals are nearly unstoppable.
Given all this, it’s a little bit tough to get a read on this year’s version of the Capitals. They have moments that wow you, that make your jaw drop. Then they couple those moments with segments that confound you, that make you wonder if this is a playoff team. Consider for a moment that the Bolts have more road wins (7) this year than the Capitals do home wins (5). This Washington team should be (and likely is) better than that.
With no morning skate scheduled today, it’s tough to predict what Jon Cooper might do with his lines. Will Valtteri Filppula stay up on the top line with Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan? Will Jonathan Drouin stay in the lineup? Who will be scratched? These questions will all be answered later today. Expect that Ben Bishop will get the start in net.
In closing, this is the third and final meeting between the Lightning and Capitals this season, meaning that Tampa fans won’t get a chance to see Alex Ovechkin again this year unless the teams meet in the playoffs. That may not be such a bad thing. The teams have split the season series so far, and it just seems like the Bolts have trouble with the Capitals regardless of who’s behind the bench or out on the ice.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.