Which Top Eastern Conference Team Will Be Able to Win as the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals Face Off?

The Tampa Bay Lightning are on the road Wednesday night as they head to the Capital zone Arena to take on the Washington Capitals in an Eastern Conference. Tampa Bay is looking to finish off the regular season sweep as they are 2-0 this season against Washington, including a 3-2 home win back on November 1. The Lightning are second in the Atlantic Division (43-18-6, 92 points) right now, while the Capitals are fourth in the Metropolitan Division (37-21-10, 84 points). 

With two potential playoff teams squaring off, this game can be extremely important, heading down the final stretch of the regular season. Let’s take a deeper dive into the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals to determine which side we should be betting on. 

Can the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Defense Hold Off the Washington Capitals’ Offense? 

Center Steven Stamkos has been playing extremely well all season as he is tied for 17th in the league in goals, tied for 23rd in the NHL on assists, and tied for 17th in all of hockey in points as he has posted 75 points (31 goals, 44 assists) with an additional eight points being scored in the last four games. 

The Lightning as a team are averaging 3.31 goals on 30.4 shot attempts up to this point. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been doing pretty well as he has a 35-14-4 record with 2.37 goals allowed per game and a .919 save percentage. Defensively, Tampa Bay is allowing 2.73 goals on 29.5 shots right now. 

The Washington offense has been doing well this season as they are scoring 3.24 goals on 31.3 shots as of this writing. Veteran left-winger Alex Ovechkin has been playing extremely well as he is fourth in the league in goals and 16th in the sport in points as he has recorded 75 points (42 goals, 36 assists) with two points added in his previous three games. 

On the defensive side of the ice, the Capitals are giving up 2.87 goals on 29.3 shot attempts this season. Goalie Ilya Samsonov has not played entirely well inside of the net this year as he has a 19-8-4 record with an .899 save percentage and 2.95 goals allowed per game. 

Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals Betting Prediction

Both of these teams are playing extremely well this season, but there is a difference between these teams that Tampa Bay should exploit. Looking at the offensive production in their recent stretch of games, the Caps are averaging 2.6 goals per game in their previous five games played, while the Lightning are scoring 4.3 goals per game in their last three games. 

Vasilevskiy is also better this season in the goal than what Samonsov has been producing. All in all, go with the Tampa Bay Lightning to go on the road and cover the puck line against the Washington Capitals.

* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.