Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 11/13/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL

Where to watch: ESPN

DraftKings: Lightning -175, Capitals +150

FanDuel: Lightning -188, Capitals +155

BetMGM: Lightning -182, Capitals +150

Caesars: Lightning -178, Capitals +150

Capitals: 7-7-2 (16 points)

Lightning: 7-6-1 (15 points)

Capitals: 4-4-2 in last 10

Lightning: lost 3 of 4 (1-2-1)

It’s a home-and-home between the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning with the home half in Tampa set to take place on Sunday. And if the result in this one is anything like what happened on Friday, then the three-time Eastern Conference champions are in deep trouble.

 

The Capitals dominated at home on Friday in the fashion of 5-1 where Sonny Milano had two goals and an assist for the Capitals to end their four-game homestand on a high note. Darcy Kuemper turned back the clock to June with 28 saves, reminding the Lightning which goalie rose the Stanley Cup this summer. Anthony Mantha added a goal and an assist, as well.

 

"I thought our compete level was really good tonight. Going from 'Kuemps' on out, everybody was dialed in," said Washington assistant Kevin McCarthy, who coached in place of Peter Laviolette (COVID-19 protocol). "We played a smart game. You do those things well, you've got a good chance to win games."

 

It hasn’t been the most ideal of starts for either of these teams, but with the Capitals it’s more apparent. Outside of the normal goal production from Alex Ovechkin (8) and Kuemper has been OK at stints. But there’s a lot to get better at. Fortunately for them, the claiming of Milano, the former Ducks forward, has been a great addition by way of his speed and energy. His goal scoring has also helped.

 

"It has been pretty smooth," Milano said of joining Washington. "Everyone has been taking care of me, and obviously a great group of leaders and older guys that I definitely am looking up to."

 

A slow start for the Lightning, however, may have finally been expected with how much hockey they’ve played over the last few years. But Tampa Bay dropped its third in four games when losing to the Caps. That came a couple days after losing to the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes at home. But again, it’s still early and you can get by with an off night from Andrei Vasilevskiy from just 19 saves.

 

"We've been struggling a little as of late on the power play (1-for-10 the past three games), and again we get a five-minute major there and we can't score, and they come out of the box and score," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "Those are turning points in games, and when things are going good you capitalize on those opportunities, and when you're in a rut you try not to let it snowball."

 

You just can’t win games with Nick Perbix scoring your only goal in the game, and you can’t get by with your world-class goaltender having off nights like that. But that’s why there’s still plenty of hockey left to be played. Nikita Kucherov is off to a great start, and if he can continue to produce offense and Tampa commits to the defensive side, things will start to look up, as they start to look up on Sunday.

 

 

The home-and-home sweep is never something that happens unless the talent gap is far and wide. That’s not the case here. The Lightning will benefit from the home crowd and get a win against Washington. Lightning win 4-3

Capitals are 77-63 on the road after playing 3 straight home games since 1996.

Lightning are 19-3 at home after not covering 2 of last 3 the last 3 seasons.

Lightning are 27-4 at home revenging a loss against the opponent the last 3 seasons.

Lightning are 27-6 at home after a loss the last 3 seasons.

Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Conor Sheary

Sonny Milano -- Dylan Strome -- Marcus Johansson

Lars Eller -- Anthony Mantha -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Aliaksei Protas -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway

Erik Gustafsson -- John Carlson

Martin Fehervary -- Nick Jensen

Matt Irwin -- Trevor van Riemsdyk

Darcy Kuemper

Lightning:

Brandon Hagel -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov

Steven Stamkos -- Nicholas Paul -- Alex Killorn

Cole Koepke -- Vladislav Namestnikov -- Ross Colton

Pat Maroon -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Corey Perry

Victor Hedman -- Erik Cernak

Mikhail Sergachev -- Nick Perbix

Ian Cole -- Cal Foote

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Points: Alex Ovechkin -- 14

Goals: Alex Ovechkin -- 8

Assists: Evgeny Kuznetsov -- 10

Goalie: Darcy Kuemper -- 5-6-2, 2.35 GAA, .920 SV%

Points: Nikita Kucherov -- 21

Goals: Steven Stamkos -- 7

Assists: Nikita Kucherov -- 15

Goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy -- 4-5-1, 3.11 GAA, .901 SV%