Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning: GAME # 3
Time: 7:30 pm Eastern Time
Location: Amalie Arena
Broadcast/Streaming: SunS NSWA
Opponent SBNation Site: Japers Rink
Preview:
Remember about five months ago, when the Capitals lost another heartbreaking playoff series to the Pittsburgh Penguins and there were calls for Washington to dismantle the team and trade Alex Ovechkin? Those were fun times.
Whether it’s trying to prove the doubters wrong, or the Russian winger looking to wreak havoc on a league that is preventing him from representing his country at the Olympics, Ovechkin has had an incandescent start to the 2017-18 season. He has played in two games and recorded two hat tricks. Fourteen of his shots have made their way on net and seven of them have beaten the goaltender.
At this point he doesn’t even have to be looking at the net to score:
Alex Ovechkin’s fourth goal of the season to put the Caps up 1-0. Ovi scored 20 seconds into the period. pic.twitter.com/YVOEgqozUj
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) October 7, 2017
While the Capitals didn’t completely overhaul their team, there are some new faces in the line-up. Twenty-one year old Czech rookie Jakub Vrana has appeared on the opposite wing of Ovechkin’s line and faired pretty well through the first two games, picking up three assists.
The third and fourth lines for the Capitals sport the most new names as veterans Alex Chiasson and Devante Smith-Pelly were brought in to help Washington’s depth. Another new new name toiling on the bottom lines is 23-year-old Nathan Walker, the first player from Australia to play in the NHL. The rookie scored his first career goal on Saturday with his family watching in the stands.
Ovechkin’s reborn scoring touch is not a good sign for the Lightning, a team that surrendered 8 goals in two games to the Florida Panthers. Another not so great trend for the Lightning were their 11 minor penalties in two games. Giving Ovechkin more space on the ice isn’t a great way to win a hockey game. While he has only scored one power play goal this season, giving him more three or four opportunities while on the man advantage wouldn’t be the most effective game plan, either.
In order to keep Ovechkin off of the score sheet, Tampa is going to have to get better at getting pucks out of their zone and into the offensive zone. Too much of the first two games have been played on the defensive (a trend that can be traced to the beginning of last season), and the only reason the Lightning aren’t staring at an 0-2 start is the play of the Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Despite having a rather pedestrian .905 save percentage, the young goaltender has been fantastic through the first two games. He has faced an average of 42 shots against ( and, why yes, that is the highest number in the league). The team has to find a way to cut down on the number of shots that make it on net, and the answer isn’t having Dan Girardi block more of them. They have to get the puck out and keep it out of their zone.
The good news for the Lightning is that they have had some effective play when they do have the puck. The Steven Stamkos/Nikita Kucherov/Vlad Namestnikov line has been as advertised: all three players have 3 points apiece through two games. Brayden Point has picked up right where he left off last season, accumulating 5 points in his first two games.
Comparison chart:
As comparison numbers tend to be a bit wonky early in the season due to small sample size, here is a graphic that best represents the Lightning’s history against the Capitals.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Forward Lines
Vladislav Namestnikov – Steven Stamkos – Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat – Brayden Point – Yanni Gourde
Alex Killorn – Tyler Johnson – Gabriel Dumont/J.T Brown
Chris Kunitz – Cedric Paquette – Ryan Callahan
Defense Pairings
Victor Hedman – Jake Dotchin
Mikhail Sergachev – Anton Stralman
Braydon Coburn – Dan Girardi
Slater Koekkoek – Andrej Sustr
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Peter Budaj
Lineup Notes:
Coach Cooper did shake up things a bit in game 2, inserting Jake Dotchin and JT Brown while removing Andrej Sustr and Gabriel Dumont. In all likelihood that is a rotation that will continue throughout the season.
Washington Capitals Lines
Forward Lines
Andre Burakovsky – Nicklas Backstrom – T.J. Oshie
Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Jakub Vrana
Brett Connolly – Lars Eller – Alex Chiasson
Nathan Walker – Jay Beagle – Devante Smith-Pelly
Defense Pairings
Dmitry Orlov – Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik – John Carlson
Aaron Ness – Taylor Chorney
Goalies
Braden Holtby
Phillip Grubauer
