The marquee matchup in the NHL on Tuesday is a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview between Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay and the best team in the Metropolitan Division in Washington. The Caps are at a bit of a disadvantage in the NHL odds in this second of a back-to-back.
The Caps made a trade on Monday, landing Michal Kempny from Chicago for a third-round pick. Kempny played in 81 games for the Blackhawks, including 31 contests this season. He has seven points and a plus-13 rating in 2017-18. Chicago will receive the higher of Washington’s own third round draft choice or Toronto’s third round pick. A strong skater and an adept puck over, Kempny has shown good possession numbers in his time in the NHL, posting a 56.3% Corsi rating in 2016-17 and a 53.9% mark this season.
“I think he gives us obviously a little more depth,” says Caps coach Barry Trotz of Monday’s trade. “We got to see him the other day [in Chicago against the Hawks]. But he’s a real good skater and he’s a little bit more of a veteran player. His first pass I thought was pretty good in the game, and they got to pass the puck a lot against us the other night.”
Lightning at Capitals NHL Odds & Game Info – February 20th
When: Tuesday, 7 PM ET Where: Capital One Arena, Washington D.C. TV: NHL Center Ice, SUN, CSNB Radio: 970 WFLA (Tampa Bay) / 106.7 FM (Washington) Opening NHL Odds: Lightning -132“I think we’re working towards something that is better than what we’ve shown. Sometimes it just takes a little while.” Practice day | Anton Stralman: pic.twitter.com/4gVJVd5mc6
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) February 19, 2018
Season Series
This is the last meeting of the regular season between the two. On Oct. 9, the Lightning beat the visiting Capitals 4-3 in overtime. Brayden Point scored on a power play in overtime, and Tampa Bay held Caps star Alex Ovechkin pointless. Point redirected Nikita Kucherov’s shot at 3:08 that came after the Capitals were assessed a too many men on the ice penalty. Tampa Bay also got goals from Alex Killorn, Chris Kunitz and Kucherov, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves. T.J. Oshie had two goals and an assist, while Nicklas Backstrom added a goal and two assists for the Capitals. Philipp Grubauer stopped 36 shots On Nov. 24 in Washington, the Capitals won 3-1. Devante Smith-Pelly put the Capitals up 2-1 in the second period, flicking home the rebound of a shot by Jay Beagle from the left circle. Ovechkin scored his 15th goal and Grubauer stopped 25 shots. Beagle clinched the victory, scoring into an empty net with 2:08 to go. Vladislav Namestnikov scored the lone goal for the Lightning, a power-play tally in the opening two minutes. The Bolts were trying to tie the franchise record for consecutive road wins at seven.Why Bet on Tampa Bay?
The Bolts are in a mini-funk as they have dropped three of four and are off a 4-3 home upset loss to New Jersey on Saturday as Boston inches closer for the Atlantic lead. Eddie Lack was brilliant for New Jersey with a career-high 48 saves. Tampa Bay got goals from Chris Kunitz, Point and Steven Stamkos, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 24 shots. The Lightning, who have lost four of seven, fell a point behind Vegas for the NHL’s best record. Point scored his 21st of the season and extended his points streak to four games Saturday. He scored in the second period, giving Tampa a 2-1 lead. Point has 21 goals and 50 points in 59 games this season. NHL leading scorer Nikita Kucherov had an assist and has a six-game point streak. Vasilevskiy made 24 saves on 28 shots. The Russian goaltender has now lost two out of his last three decisions for the Bolts and has allowed nine goals in that span. Vasilevskiy’s record fell to 34-12-2 with a 2.34 GAA and a .927 save percentage. Bolts winger Ondrej Palat (lower body) is still “weeks” away from being ready to return, according to coach Jon Cooper. Palat hasn’t played since Jan. 20 due to a lower-body injury. He was initially give a timetable of 6-8 weeks.Why Bet on Washington?
The Caps beat Buffalo on Monday afternoon 3-2 to return to first in the division. John Carlson had one goal and one assist. Carlson recorded his 11th goal and 36th assist during the second period to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead. He ranks third among blueliners in scoring with 47 points in 59 games. Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov (empty net) had the other goals in Washington’s victory. Philipp Grubauer started that one so presumably it will be Braden Holtby on Tuesday. Holtby, a former Vezina winner, was not good last time out, allowing six goals on 33 shots in a 7-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. Holtby has now lost three straight for the Capitals, going 0-1-2 in these last three games. Holtby’s record is 28-11-4 with a 2.92 GAA and a .911 save percentage. Saturday’s loss matched the most lopsided one suffered by the Caps this season; they fell 8-2 to the Flyers in Philadelphia on Oct. 14.
The Caps made a trade on Monday, landing Michal Kempny from Chicago for a third-round pick. Kempny played in 81 games for the Blackhawks, including 31 contests this season. He has seven points and a plus-13 rating in 2017-18. Chicago will receive the higher of Washington’s own third round draft choice or Toronto’s third round pick. A strong skater and an adept puck over, Kempny has shown good possession numbers in his time in the NHL, posting a 56.3% Corsi rating in 2016-17 and a 53.9% mark this season.
“I think he gives us obviously a little more depth,” says Caps coach Barry Trotz of Monday’s trade. “We got to see him the other day [in Chicago against the Hawks]. But he’s a real good skater and he’s a little bit more of a veteran player. His first pass I thought was pretty good in the game, and they got to pass the puck a lot against us the other night.”
Latest NHL Odds Trends
- Tampa Bay is 6-3 ATS in the last 9 games on the road
- Tampa Bay is 2-4 SU in the last 6 games on the road
- The total went OVER in 8 of Tampa Bay’s last 9 games
- Washington is 2-5 ATS in the last 7 games at home
- Washington is 18-7 SU in the last 25 games at home
- The total went OVER in 5 of Washington’s last 6 games
