The Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning will clash one last time this Wednesday with a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals on the line out of the Eastern Conference. This deciding Game 7 tilt from Amalie Arena is slated to get underway at 8 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.
Washington at Tampa Bay Game Overview
With their backs against the wall, Washington was able to force a Game 7 with a 3-0 shutout in Monday’s Game 6 as a -130 home favorite. The Capitals won the first two games of this series as road underdogs before dropping the next two games at home as favorites. The only game they lost as underdogs in this series was Game 5 in Tampa Bay in a tight 3-2 setback as +136 underdogs. The total has closed at six goals in the first six games, and it has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in the last four.
TJ Oshie was the top star on Monday night for the Capitals with two of the team’s three goals, but you could make a strong case for Braden Holtby taking those honors in goal. After getting torched for ten goals over his previous three starts, he came up with his best effort in the postseason by turning away all of the 24 shots on goal he faced. Evgeny Kuznetsov added an assist to his team-high 23 points in the playoffs. However, Alex Ovechkin did not register a point in a game for just the second time in this series.
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Tampa Bay knew it was going to be a tall task to close this series out on the road, but at 6-3 in nine previous home games this postseason, it now has the edge playing on its home ice. The Lightning were outscored 10-4 in those first two losses to Washington at home before winning the next three games of this series by a combined score of 11-6. The total has gone OVER or ended as a PUSH in six of those nine playoff games at home.
The Lightning has averaged just 1.6 goals per game in six postseason losses, and they have scored an average of 3.81 goals in 11 playoff wins. A fast start on Wednesday night could lead the way to Tampa Bay’s second trip to the NHL Finals in the past four seasons. Although they were shut down on Monday night, the key to that fast start lies with the play of Nikita Kucherov, Stephen Stamkos, and Brayden Point. Each player has scored seven goals in 16 playoff games, and they have combined for 28 assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy will also have to come up big in goal behind a goals-against average of 2.55 in the postseason.
Get more details: Washington at Tampa Bay NHL Match-Up
Washington at Tampa Bay Betting Trends
- The Capitals have gone 14-3 in their last 17 road games and 7-3 in their last ten games following a win. The total has stayed UNDER in three of their last five road games.
- The Lightning are 6-1 in their last seven games after scoring two goals or fewer in their previous outing. The total has stayed UNDER in their last five games played on Wednesday.
- Head-to-head in this matchup, the road team has won five of the last seven meetings, and the total has gone OVER or ended as a PUSH in 13 of the previous 17 meetings in Tampa Bay.
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