Lightning vs. Capitals Odds
| Lightning Odds | -145 |
| Capitals Odds | +120 |
| Over/Under | 6 (-110 / -110) |
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| TV | NHL Network |
The Tampa Bay Lightning head into the nation's capital to take on a very depleted Washington Capitals roster.
The Capitals have many of their key players injured right now, and it's not clear how they are going to remain competitive without guys like Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie, John Carlson and Carl Hagelin, just to name a few.
The Lightning will try to take advantage of the unhealthy Capitals team and try to get back in the win column after losing their previous game to the Edmonton Oilers.
Tampa Bay Lightning Average But Still Dangerous
The Tampa Bay Lightning haven't been off to as good of a start as they would have liked, but anyone who has watched hockey over the past few seasons knows what this team is capable of.
Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos have been performing up to par, but the team as a whole has been pretty average.
The Bolts have won four out of their last six contests coming into this game, so they are definitely starting to find their game a bit. But they need to remain consistent.
Right now they are basically in the middle of the pack in nearly every category. They are 14th in goals per game (3.23), 16th in power play success (22.2%), 18th in goals against per game (3.08) and 16th in penalty kill percentage (78.7%).
The Bolts are currently about as average as it gets.
Even if the statistics aren't all that convincing, Tampa Bay is still a very dangerous team. It's never fun for their opponents when they line up next to Andrei Vasilevskiy. He is sporting a 4-4-1 record with a .910 SV% and a 2.90 GAA, and he is also boasting a +4.8 GSAx.
Vasilevskiy hasn't been at the top of his game lately, but I have a feeling he will be ready to go for this one.
Scoring Difficulties for Washington Capitals
It feels like it is only a matter of time before the Washington Capitals completely fall apart. They are missing so many important players from their lineup that it's hard to see how they are going to form strong chemistry with the lines consistently changing based on who is healthy.
These health issues have had a serious impact on the Caps' offensive output. They are really struggling to score goals consistently, averaging only 2.73 per game (26th) with a 46.04 expected goals percentage.
In their last five games, the Capitals have scored only 11 goals, and they aren't very strong at getting shots on goal. So we may see them struggle once again tonight.
Defensively speaking, Washington has similarly been pretty average just like the Lightning, but with that being said, they might be without two of their best defenseman. John Carlson will definitely be out of the lineup, but Dmitry Orlov is also questionable for this game.
The Capitals have a very tough test ahead of them tonight.
Lightning vs. Capitals Pick
Right now if you just look on paper, the Capitals roster comes nowhere even close to the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup.
Darcy Kuemper has been decent in goal for Washington, but he isn't necessarily the kind of goalie that can steal a game whereas Vasilevskiy is exactly that kind of goalie for the Lightning.
The struggle of staying healthy might just be too much for the Capitals, and Jon Cooper's team is pretty well-rested and ready to go after losing its previous game.
Even though the Lightning haven't been as dominant as we are used to seeing, I still think this is a great spot for them to completely dominate a hurt Capitals team.
I think the Lightning will play a complete 60 minutes and win this game in regulation.
Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning 3-way (+110 at BetMGM)
