The Washington Capitals (37-22-10) will host the Tampa Bay Lightning (43-19-7) on Wednesday night in an Eastern Conference matchup that has playoff implications.
Tampa Bay enters Wednesday night’s contest hoping to improve their playoff positioning with only 13 games remaining. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Lightning, and Boston Bruins are battling for second and third place in the Atlantic Division, behind the Florida Panthers (49-15-6), who’ve already clinched their spot.
Meanwhile, Washington currently occupies the final wildcard spot in the conference. With just a few weeks left in the regular season, the Capitals look to solidify their hold on a playoff berth and maybe even improve upon their spot down the home stretch.
The Capitals and Lightning are each coming off two straight losses, and both will be eager to snap those streaks.
This matchup should have playoff vibes making it an exciting one to watch. Washington vs. Tampa Bay is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on TNT. Tampa Bay is listed as the favorite at -140.
Capitals Look to Find Consistency on Both Ends of the Ice
The Capitals are looking to rebound from two straight ugly losses. Washington closed out March with a 6-1 loss to Metropolitan Division leader, the Carolina Hurricanes (45-17-8). The Capitals followed that lopsided result with another, falling 5-1 to the Minnesota Wild (43-21-5).
Washington had the fourth-best record in the NHL during March (9-3-1). They began the month winning seven of eight games, but they’ve since crashed back to earth, losing four of their last six games.
Perhaps most concerning is Washington’s goal output lately. The Capitals average 3.20 GF/G, but after being outscored 11-2 by the Hurricanes and Wild, Washington has scored two goals or less in four of their previous six games.
Aside from future hall of famer Alex Ovechkin, who leads the team with 42 goals, the Capitals have just two other players who’ve surpassed 20 goals this season. Evgeny Kuznetsov has 22 goals and is also tied with defenseman John Carlson as the Capitals’ leader in assists with 44. Meanwhile, Tom Wilson is third on Washington goals, scoring 21.
Defense and goaltending have struggled as well for Washington as of late. The Capitals averages under three goals a game against this season (2.90 GA/G), though they’ve allowed three or more goals in 11 of their last 12 games.
Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek have split the goaltending duties for the Capitals this year. Samsonov has started 31 games going 19-9-4 with a .899 SV% and a 2.95 GAA. Vanecek has made three more starts, 34, going 17-11-5 with a .911 SV% and a 2.60 GAA.
Vanecek was the starter in 10 of 14 games for Washington in March. He’s also started in each of the Capitals’ last three games. With 12 games in 20 days to close out the season (eight on the road), Wednesday night might be a spot for Samsonov, who made only four starts in March.
Lightning Look to Regain Form Against Capitals
Losers of two straight coming into Wednesday’s road game in Washington, the Lightning are hoping to avoid their third three-game losing streak over their last 15 games (6-7-1).
Before that 15 game stretch, Tampa Bay averaged nearly 3.50 GF/G. Since then, they’re averaging just over 2.50 GF/G, having failed to score more than two goals in eight of those games.
This season, Steven Stamkos leads Tampa Bay with 32 goals, but the Lightning has had trouble finding offense in other places.
Brayden Point has 27 goals, despite being limited to 55 games this year, and Alex Killorn has 21 goals for the Lightning. Defenseman Victor Hedman is fourth on the team in goals with 19 on the year.
Stamkos, Points, Killorn, and Hedman have 99 of Tampa Bay’s 228 goals.
This season, Tampa has allowed an average of 2.80 GA/G, the ninth-best in the NHL. However, they’ve given up 11 goals combined over their last two games.
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is coming off a tough outing against Toronto but has played solidly this season. The 27-year-old netminder has gone 35-15-4 with a .917 SV% and a 2.43 GAA. Expect him to make his 55th start of the year Wednesday in Washington.
Betting Prediction
Tampa Bay enters the game against Washington as the betting favorite; let’s take a look at some reasons why the Lightning might be the way to go on Wednesday.
The Capitals and Lightning have matched up twice this season but haven’t met since November 1. Tampa Bay has had Washington’s number in two close games this season. The Lightning won the first meeting in just their third game of the season, 2-1 in overtime. Tampa Bay earned another one-goal victory by a 3-2 score a few weeks later.
Washington hasn’t played well in front of the home crowd this season, going 16-15-5 at Capital One Arena. They’ve also lost four of their last five games at home.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has won four of their last six on the road. They have one of the best road marks this season, 22-12-2), the sixth-best in the NHL.
The Lightning at -140 is the pick to play for this one.
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