Game #64
Caps (42-13-8, 93 points) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (26-25-11, 63 points)
The Caps came back from the Olympic break in style with a 3-1 win at Buffalo on Wednesday night. Fine performance from goalie Jose Theodore, who finished with 23 saves, and Washington found a way to beat Sabres goalie – and United States Olympic hero – Ryan Miller. Tonight marks the debut of Wednesday’s trade acquisitions – center Eric Belanger, winger Scott Walker and defenseman Joe Corvo. That means no Matt Bradley or David Steckel or Quintin Laing up front. Is there a better fifth line in hockey than that? Defensemen Tyler Sloan and John Erskine are the blueline scratches. Semyon Varlamov is in goal. Rookie defenseman John Carlson remains in the lineup after his recall from AHL Hershey on Wednesday. He played 16 minutes, 15 seconds against Buffalo.
The Lightning are fighting for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, but things aren’t going too well, right now. Tampa lost its last three games before the Olympic break and was blasted by the Flyers at home on Tuesday, 7-2. Each of those losses came in regulation yet they’re still just two points out of the eighth spot. Look out for second-year pro Steven Stamkos, who is creeping on Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby for the NHL goal-scoring lead. He had two more against Philadelphia and is at 37 on the year. No idea if the NHL will allow its players back to the Olympics in 2014 in Sochi. But if they do Stamkos is an absolute mortal lock to make Team Canada. You can argue he should have made it this time around, but it seems to have worked out okay for the Canadians.
The Caps are 2-1 against the Lightning this season, including a 3-2 win at Verizon Center on Jan. 31. A 7-4 loss at Tampa on Jan. 12 sparked the franchise-record 14-game winning streak. Washington is 15-1-2 since that game. That loss to Tampa? One of just two on the year against Southeast Division teams against 13 wins.
