Capitals at Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning make a quick stop at home in between seven road contests when they meet their former Southeast Division-rival Washington Capitals on Thursday. The Lightning, who won three of four on their tour of Western Canada, squandered a three-goal lead as captain Alex Ovechkin scored four times in the 6-5 shootout loss at Washington on Dec. 10. The Capitals have won only three of 11 games since and Ovechkin has been held to one goal in his last six outings.
Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 31 goals, has tallied 35 times and collected 70 points in 52 career games against Tampa Bay. Washington’s main problem of late has been keeping the puck out of its net, allowing 34 goals over the last 10 contests after a 5-3 loss at Minnesota on Saturday. The Lightning continue to find ways to win, going 8-2-1 in their last 11.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RDS, NHL Network, CSN Washington, SunSports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (20-16-6): Coach Adam Oates had five days to get his team back on track after a 1-3-3 stretch that has featured inconsistent play on both ends of the ice. Braden Holtby, who started the season as the No. 1 goalie, has given up two goals or fewer only once in his last six games and Philipp Grubauer has played more since being recalled in December. Nicklas Backstrom leads the team in scoring with 46 points - including two in the last four games - and Oates is experimenting with new line combinations.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (26-13-4): Captain Martin St. Louis snapped out of a four-game goal drought with two in the 4-2 victory at Winnipeg on Tuesday after being left off the Canadian Olympic team roster earlier in the day. St. Louis’ linemate Ondrej Palat has raised his game of late with three goals and five assists during a seven-game point streak – the longest for a rookie this season. Goalie Ben Bishop, who has 22 wins and a.935 save percentage, sat out the Winnipeg game with an upper-body injury and is listed day-to-day.
OVERTIME
1. Lightning D Victor Hedman recorded eight points over the last nine games with a plus-8 rating while playing at least 24 minutes five times.
2. Washington has won the last four games against Tampa Bay, scoring 19 goals combined.
3. Lightning C Valtteri Filppula collected seven goals and seven assists in the last 11 games.