Coming into the matchup with eight wins apiece in the series Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals collide in a winner-take-all Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The action gets going at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 23 and it’ll be shown live on NBC Sports Network.
Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Tampa Bay (-155) is currently the favorite over Washington (+135) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting that total sit at -105 for the over and -115 for the under.
Tampa Bay is 65-33 straight up (SU) and has earned 12.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 42-40 record from last years regular season campaign. Of its 98 games this season, 55 have gone over the total, while 37 have gone under and just six have pushed. The team is 35-15 SU at home this season.
Following a regular season where they found the net on 24.8 percent of all power-play opportunities (the third-strongest), the Lightning have connected on 29.1 percent of their postseason power play opportunities. Their penalty kill has gone from 75.7 percent in the regular season to 73.9 percent in the playoffs.
The Lightning offensive attack attempted 32.1 shots per game in the regular season, resulting in 3.5 goals per outing (ranked first overall in the NHL). In the playoffs, however, the club is down to an average of 29.2 shots on goal ( 3.1 goals per game).
Averaging 29.3 saves per game with a .920 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (55-26-3) has been the best option in goal for the Bolts this year. If head coach Jon Cooper decides to rest him, however, Tampa Bay may turn to Louis Domingue (7-13-13 record, .896 save percentage, 3.35 goals against average).
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will each lead the offensive attack for the Lightning. Kucherov (117 points) has tallied 46 goals and 71 assists and has recorded two or more points in 35 different games this year. Stamkos has 34 goals and 68 assists to his name and has recorded a point in 64 games.
Over on the other bench, Washington is 60-40 straight up (SU) and has earned 15.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. A total of 53 of its contests have gone over the total, while 42 have gone under and just five have pushed. As a road team, the Capitals are 28-22 SU.
The Capitals have converted on 23.9 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 16th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.3 percent of all opponent power plays.
Washington’s players have been penalized 4.0 times per game in total this season, and 3.4 per game over their last five on the road. The teams had to defend opponent power plays just 8.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Braden Holtby (26.9 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Washington. Holtby owns a 45-26-5 record, while registering a .910 save percentage and 2.78 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive counter for the visiting Capitals will be Alex Ovechkin (60 goals, 48 assists) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (38 goals, 68 assists).
Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Over Tampa Bay’s last ten outings, eight of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-3 in those games).
- Penalties and power plays could prove to be critical tonight. The Capitals are 17-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 33-21 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Lightning are 31-18 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 37-21 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Tampa Bay is 6-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Washington is 3-1 in shootouts.
- Tampa Bay skaters have averaged 7.4 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 8.4 giveaways per game (ranked 9th in the league).
- Washington is ranked 25th this season with 10.4 giveaways per game. That figures trended down, however, as it’s averaged 6.8 giveaways over its last 10 games and 7.2 giveaways over its last five.
