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Bolts Vs.​ Caps (Matchup Preview)

Kevin Flannery

By Jake Ricker

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be taking on the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Finals!! The Caps have finally made it to the Conference Finals after a very long time, but they will have a tough matchup as they go up against the Bolts. The Bolts are coming off a 4-1 series victory against the Bruins, while the Caps are coming off a 4-2 series wins against the Pens. The Lightning won the regular season series 2-1 but as the Bolts have shown us before that doesn’t really matter. Let’s take an in-depth look at how these two teams stack up.

Offense

Advantage: Lightning 

While the stats for both teams are pretty close, I give the edge to the Lightning. As we saw in the second round when the Bolts first line was struggling while the rest of the team stepped up and got the goal scoring done. The Lightning have 2 players with 30+ goals and 5 players with 20+ goals. As for the Capitals they have only 1 player with 30+ goals and only 3 players with 20+ goals. The Lightning have scored a total of 35 goals so far in the playoffs whereas the Capitals have scored 43. The Caps have also played 2 extra games than the Bolts, where they scored 8 additional goals. The Bolts lead the NHL in GF/GP with an average of 3.54. The Bolts also lead the league during the regular season in 5v5 goals with 196. The Bolts put this on display against the Bruins with only 5 of their goals coming on the power play. The Capitals also have played well 5 on 5, but most of their scoring has come from their top line (Ovechkin and Kuznetsov). The Caps can light the lamp, but the Bolts have the depth to outscore them, which is why I am giving the Bolts the advantage.

Defense

Advantage: Even 

Both teams have decent defenses that have struggled at times. For the Bolts, they definitely have an advantage in talent with guys like Hedman, Stralman, and McDonagh. However, this defense did not play well in the regular season giving up an average of 2.85 goals per game (13th in the NHL). The defense has looked much better in the first and second rounds of the playoffs however only letting up a total of 25 goals over 10 games. The Bolts will need to make sure they can shut down the Caps top line and if they do the Caps will be in some trouble. As for the Caps, they do have some big names but not as many. However, the Caps defense has shown us it can shut down a high powered offense like the Penguins. The Caps also let up a similar amount of goals (14) in their series with an extra game played. Both teams defense will make play a large part in who advances as they will need to stop these high powered offenses.

Starting Goalie

Advantage: Lightning, Slightly

As we got to see in the first and second round, Vasy was stellar once again. Vasy had a .927 save percentage in 10 games (3rd best in the NHL among goalies still in the playoffs) and gave up a total of 22 goals. He has continued to show us why he is a Vezina finalist. Vasy has been great all year and while he did struggle towards the end of the season he showed us in the first round there is no reason to worry. As for the Caps Holtby has been so much better than his recent playoff performances, he currently sits one spot behind Vasy for save percentage. Holtby did not start the playoffs for the Caps but has taken back the starting role. He will need to continue this play though as he faces his toughest opponent yet. I have to give the advantage though to the Bolts because of Holtby’s history, but this should be another great matchup.

Backup Goalie

Advantage: Capitals, Slightly

Louis Domingue played well for the Bolts after replacing the injured Peter Budaj. Domingue ended the season with a .894 SV% and a 3.41 GAA. And while Domingue got 7 wins with the Bolts, the Caps have a great option to go too. Philipp Grubauer played great in the later parts of the regular season ending the year with a .923 save percentage. We also got to see Grubauer in the playoffs when he got the start in games 1 and 2. However, things did not go as well as he would have liked. Now we haven’t seen Domingue in the playoffs yet, but experience is experience, so the slight edge goes to Grubauer.

Power Play

Advantage: Even

The Bolts had the 3rd best PP in the NHL this year and have the ability to be the best with all of their firepower. While the Bolts PP has not been stellar, it currently ranks 2nd among teams left in the playoffs (26.3%). Despite the high ranking the Bolts will need to make sure their PP is much more consistent. The Capitals have the best PP in the playoffs so far (30.9%). With Alex Ovechkin on the right side teams often have a hard time covering that first line and it has shown. The Capitals also had a successful full PP in the regular season only a few spots behind the Lightning. Both teams have good PP that can score when they need to and have had a great playoff and regular season success, so I’m calling this one even.

Penalty Kill

Advantage: Capitals

The Bolts penalty kill has not been the best thus far as they currently rank 5th among teams still left in the playoffs (74.2%). The Bruins really took advantage of the Bolts on the PP as almost all of their goals came with the man advantage. The Bolts will need to be better on the PK as they take on one of the top power plays in the NHL playoffs. As for the Capitals they have had decent success on the PK as they are ranked 3rd among teams in the NHL playoffs. While the Capitals success has not been anything stellar, it has been much better than the Bolts. Therefore, the edge goes to the Caps.

Overall

Advantage: Lightning 

This should be a great series and on paper its very close with neither team having a large advantage over the other. However I think the Bolts are going to have the advantage and the Caps will have an uphill batle. The Bolts have a lot more depth to this team than the Caps do and as we saw in the second round that played a huge role in the outcome. If the Bolts can shut down that top line of the Capitals they will have a huge advantage. One of the Bolts lines is bound to get by Holtby, a goalie who the Bolts have dominated before. The Caps can win this series by making sure their top line is thriving and they take advantge on the power play. While my view is biased I think the Lighting will domiante most of this series, but either way it should be a ton of fun to watch.

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