Washington Capitals v Tampa Bay Lightning Live

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Although Tampa was already down 3-1 in their first round encounter with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, the Lightning managed to win three straight, including a 1-0 game seven showdown, to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Thus, Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning will try to keep rolling when they take on the Washington Capitals on Wednesday at 11 p.m. GMT.

While the Caps experienced some ups and downs in the regular season, the team around Alex Ovechkin showcased some excellent hockey in the post-season up to this point. More precisely, Washington eliminated the New York Rangers in the first playoff round in just five games and played some excellent defense, giving up just 1.8 goals per game. However, the Capitals lost their season opener versus the Lightning 4-2 and are now under considerable pressure to get back on track with a victory on Wednesday night.

You can watch all games of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming.

Posted: 8th March 2011

Albeit most experts expected the Capitals to stay in the playoff mix in 2009-10, very few anticipated that the team around Alexander Ovechkin would compete for the number one overall seed in the league. Hoping to stay ahead of their opponents, the Capitals will make their way to Tampa where they will face the Lightning on Tuesday at 0:30 a.m. GMT.

Given the fact that the Lightning are just coming off a disappointing season at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the franchise front-office will certainly be pleased with the performance of Rick Tocchet’s squad so far. More specifically, Tampa is holding on to the eight playoff seed with a 10-8-8 record. That said, the Lightning still have plenty of room to improve at either end of the floor. Most importantly, more productivity from their offensive lines would be desirable as they were held to just 68 goals in 26 games so far. Albeit Tampa’s first two attack lines around Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier had no trouble finding the net, the team had very little support from its role players.

The Washington Capitals on the other hand are the second best offensive team in the league and steamrolled opposing defensive lines on most nights. Especially Alexander Ovechkin has been spectacular as he scored 18 goals and added 12 assists for a total of 30 points in just 21 games. Likewise, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Brooks Laich combined for no less 74 points and carried the Caps to the top of the league. Taking everything into account, Washington undeniably has an edge over the Lightning if the team around Alexander Ovechkin continues to score at its usual pace. However, the Caps’ defense has not been particularly exciting and might lead to a close game if Tampa keeps attacking the net.

You can watch all games of the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming.