The Tampa Bay Lightning face the Washington Capitals with both teams looking to improve in the Eastern Conference. The Lightning have a 7-5-1 record and are looking to rebound after a 3-2 loss on their home ice while the Capitals have a 6-7-2 record and hope to bounce back after a 4-1 loss. The Lightning are looking to make up ground in the Atlantic Division while the Capitals hope to climb out from the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, making the upcoming game a crucial one for both teams.
The Lightning are off to a strong start to the season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.23 goals per game. Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Brayden Point have scored 19 goals and 30 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Brandon Hagel, Alex Killorn, and Nick Paul have combined for 13 goals and 14 assists while defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Victor Hedman have added three goals and 16 assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has looked great but the defense has struggled, allowing 3.08 goals per game including 10 goals in the last three games. While Hedman and Sergachev have combined for 1.2 defensive point shares and 58 blocked shots to lead the top two pairings, the rest of the unit has struggled, allowing opponents to carry the puck into the offensive zone and easily find open shots on the net. The bright spot has been the play of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy who has a .910 save percentage and a 2.90 goals-against average on 288 shots.