Bolts by the Bay
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Washington Capitals @ Tampa Bay Lightning Preview

By Austin Hart

Nov 11, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (41) and Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) battle for a face off during the first period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 11, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (41) and Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) battle for a face off during the first period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Tampa Bay Lightning (43-26-6) are back home tonight to welcome in the Washington Capitals (34-32-9) for their final game in March. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and FanDuel has the Lightning favored at home at -192 with an over/under at 6.5 again.

The Bolts were finally able to snap their four-game skid on Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-0 shutout. Brayden Point continues to be the heart of this Lightning offense, scoring two goals and adding an assist while Captain Steven Stamkos scored once and assisted on two others. Andrei Vasilevskiy also rose to the occasion and was outstanding in the playoff-like atmosphere to save all 31 shots from the Hurricanes. Finally, Tampa Bay is moving in the right direction after a dreadful road trip and only need four more points currently to secure a playoff spot.

Washington is still somewhat in the playoff hunt themselves, battling in a tightly contested wild card race within the Eastern conference. They also come into this game against the Lightning on a back-to-back, having lost last night in a lengthy showdown with the New York Islanders last night. The Capitals fell 2-1 in a shootout, marking their fourth loss in their past 5 games. This should be a prime opportunity for the Lightning to cash in on a reeling team that just played an extremely lengthy game at home last night, and will have to travel to Tampa tonight for a quick turnaround.

The Capitals and Lightning have split the season series so far, with both games having been played only days apart from each other back in November. Washington claimed a 5-1 victory at home in game one thanks to two goals from Sonny Milano and a very solid performance from goalie Darcy Kuemper to thwart Tampa Bay’s offense. The Lightning responded two days later at home with a 6-3 win of their own which turned out to be a massive night for Mikhail Sergachev. The defensemen scored two goals and assisted on two more in the first period alone to help guide the Bolts to a massive win. The final game to decide the season series is tonight.

INJURIES: No injuries for the Lightning

Washington wingers Carl Hagelin and Connor Brown remain on IR. LW Sonny Milano is also expected to be out for this matchup.

Odds (Courtesy of FanDuel): TBL -192 ML/WSH +158 ML, O 6.5 +102/U 6.5 -128

Where to watch: Bally Sports Sun, NHL Power Play, ESPN+

Where to listen: Lightning Radio 24/7, 102.5 MHz-FM

Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL

March 30, 2023, 7:00 p.m. ET

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