Tampa BAE Lightning Game 4 Preview: DC B2B

The Tampa Bay Lightning continue their first road trip of the season by heading to the Washington DC to take on the Capitals at 7 p.m. in a nationally televised broadcast on ESPN.

The Bolts managed to win their first game of the season against the Bruins yesterday despite their best efforts to lose. The Lightning led by 4-1 before letting the Bruins completely come back and nearly get them in the 3rd.

Faceoffs were an abject disaster for the Lightning as they won just 32%. That is not super encouraging, but the good news is the Caps aren’t that great in the dot either. Their season percentage is 44% which is only slightly better than the Lightning 39%.

Speaking of the Caps, their season is up and down so far. They are 2-1-0. They have beaten both NY Teams, but lost to the Bruins. Beating the Islanders is like beating the Lightning right now. Not that impressive. And they beat the Rangers in a super low scoring 1-0 affair. The Lightning will probably be betting favorites and they can definitely win this game, but they need to be SO MUCH better in the 2nd period.

The Bolts have struggled really bad in the 2nd period this season—a trend that is a hangover from last year. I don’t know if it’s the long change or just a lack of motivation, but it is completely unacceptable. The Lightning are getting completely worked in the middle frame. Faceoffs, possession, scoring chances, effort—you name it.

Not only that, but the defensive lapses are just piling up. Cernak was absolutely brutal against the Bruins. Lilleberg was fairly bad, too. It seems they just can’t get out of their own way.

We know what the Bolts aren’t good at. We know their warts. What about their opponent? What to expect? Here’s my thoughts:

• Shots, shots, shots. The Capitals have taken about 35 shots in each of their games. They rank 4th in the league at shots on goal. They are going to absolutely pepper Vasy. This will be a true test of how healthy he is. With a not good defense in front of him (playing on a back-to-back at that), he will need to be locked in.
• No shots, shots, shots. The Capitals rank 6th in the NHL in blocking shots. That’s probably very bad news for a team that is struggling to establish the zone and get shots off effectively.
• Powerplay Woes. A surprising stat that works in the Lightning’s favor is the Washington special teams have been putrid. They have scored zero PPG in nine attempts. That’s kind of shocking considering they have one of the best goal scorers of all time on their team. Their PK has allowed three goals on seven kills. That’s not great either! The Lightning must win this battle to take over this game.

This is another game I think the Bolts can win. They just need to be better. That’s really all there is to it. This game will show us a lot of who they are. Big stage, back-to-back, and coming off their first win of the season. Can they sustain? We’ll find out.

Go Bolts!