PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* Coach's Clinic >> Capitals/Lightning Game 7!
(NHL) Washington vs. Tampa Bay,
Total: 5.50 | -140.00 Under
Result: Loss
Total: 5.50 | -140.00 Under
Result: Loss
The set-up: The Washington Capitals won Games 1 and 2 at Tampa to open a 2-0 series lead. However, the Lightning "returned the favor" by winning Games 3 and 4 in Washington, before taking Game 5 at home, for three straight wins. However, the Caps were able to put past playoff failures behind them with a 3-0 home victory in Game 6, setting up this Game 7 showdown, with the winner advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals, where the expansion Vegas Golden Knights await. The Capitals sit just one win away from their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998 but the team owns a 4-11 record overall and a 1-3 mark on the road all-time in Game 7s. In contrast, the Lightning are 5-2 (3-0 at home) in deciding contests.
Washington: "I don't think there's (another) team I've ever had that I'd want to go into Game 7 with," head coach Barry Trotz, who has coached 107 playoff contests in his career and 1,524 in the regular season, told reporters. "This team has done a lot of special things this year. It's grown. It continues to do that. What an opportunity. … We'll see if we can earn the right to keep playing." Washington outhit the Lightning 39-19, many of those leading to its 17 takeaways in Game 6. Right wing T.J. Oshie scored two of the three goals Monday and has seven points in the series while Nicklas Backstrom set up a pair of tallies for his first points in three games since returning from a hand injury. Center Evgeny Kuznetsov had an assist Monday to extend his point streak to nine games and has 23 overall - a franchise playoff record.
Tampa Bay: The Lightning will have to raise their level of play after being outshot by an average of more that 10 per game in the series and take pressure off goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has turned aside 131 of 139 attempts while winning three of the last four contests. Tampa Bay has been outshot 209-145 in the series, managing only 24 in Game 6, and have not scored a goal since 33 seconds into the second period of Game 5 on Saturday night. Right wing Nikita Kucherov leads the team with 17 points in the playoffs but he and captain Steven Stamkos each managed just one shot on net in Game 6 while combining for a minus-3 rating.
The pick: Can Washington superstar Aex Ovechkin finally take his team to the Cup finals for the first time in his tenure? Or, will Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos (four goals in the series) make it for the second time in four seasons? This is a tough call. Can one really trust Washington? Then again, maybe this is finally the Caps' year. What I don't see is a low-scoring game. Tampa Bay is the NHL's highest-scoring team (3.47 GPG) and Washington ranks 9th at 3.18 GPG. The Caps are 28-20 to the over on the road and Tampa Bay 29-19 to the over at home. Make the Over a 10* play.
Washington: "I don't think there's (another) team I've ever had that I'd want to go into Game 7 with," head coach Barry Trotz, who has coached 107 playoff contests in his career and 1,524 in the regular season, told reporters. "This team has done a lot of special things this year. It's grown. It continues to do that. What an opportunity. … We'll see if we can earn the right to keep playing." Washington outhit the Lightning 39-19, many of those leading to its 17 takeaways in Game 6. Right wing T.J. Oshie scored two of the three goals Monday and has seven points in the series while Nicklas Backstrom set up a pair of tallies for his first points in three games since returning from a hand injury. Center Evgeny Kuznetsov had an assist Monday to extend his point streak to nine games and has 23 overall - a franchise playoff record.
Tampa Bay: The Lightning will have to raise their level of play after being outshot by an average of more that 10 per game in the series and take pressure off goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has turned aside 131 of 139 attempts while winning three of the last four contests. Tampa Bay has been outshot 209-145 in the series, managing only 24 in Game 6, and have not scored a goal since 33 seconds into the second period of Game 5 on Saturday night. Right wing Nikita Kucherov leads the team with 17 points in the playoffs but he and captain Steven Stamkos each managed just one shot on net in Game 6 while combining for a minus-3 rating.
The pick: Can Washington superstar Aex Ovechkin finally take his team to the Cup finals for the first time in his tenure? Or, will Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos (four goals in the series) make it for the second time in four seasons? This is a tough call. Can one really trust Washington? Then again, maybe this is finally the Caps' year. What I don't see is a low-scoring game. Tampa Bay is the NHL's highest-scoring team (3.47 GPG) and Washington ranks 9th at 3.18 GPG. The Caps are 28-20 to the over on the road and Tampa Bay 29-19 to the over at home. Make the Over a 10* play.
