The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to take a commanding 3-0 lead tonight, Tuesday May 3rd, when they host the top-seeded Washington Capitals in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-finals, at St. Pete Times Forum. The Lightning lead the Capitals 3-2 SU in their last five meetings. NHL oddsmakers have the Capitals as -115 moneyline road favorites over the Lightning (-105) with the over/under listed at 5 goals. Be sure to check the Capitals vs Lightning NHL Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
Washington (4-3, 1-1 V) finds themselves in a 0-2 hole in their best of seven series against the Lightning. Brooks Laich and Alex Ovechkin tallied for the Capitals, while Neuvirth made just 20 stops in defeat. "The series is not over. We're going to go there and we're going to have to win two games and it's going to be hard. We have to win," Ovechkin said defiantly. They had a strong 23-15-3 record as the guest during the regular season. The Caps were 1-1 as the visiting team while ousting the New York Rangers in five games during the opening round of the playoffs. The Capitals have come back from down 2-0 to win a series just once in club history and that was two years ago against the Rangers. Washington had also lost the first two games on home ice in that 2009 conference quarterfinal series, but it rallied to beat New York in seven games. Maybe playing on the riad is what the Caps need, no pressure from home crowd. Ovechkin has four goals and three assists in seven playoff games this season and 47 points (24 goals, 23 assists) in 35 career postseason outings, but Washington's superstar player has never been past the second round. As a franchise, the Caps haven't made it to the conference finals since its run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998. Washington got forward Mike Knuble back Sunday after he sat out the last two games of the Rangers series and the opener of this set with an injured right hand. The 38-year-old Knuble is a physical presence in front of the net and was third on Washington with 24 goals in the regular season. He logged 18 minutes, 12 seconds of ice time in Game 2 and had two shots on net.
Tampa Bay (5-2, 1-2 H) grabbed a 4-2 decision in the opener on Friday, as the Bolts posted a 3-2 victory Sunday in overtime. Vincent Lecavalier's second goal of the game came at 6:19 of overtime and lifted Tampa to its fifth straight road win since dropping Game 1 to the Penguins in Round 1. Teddy Purcell collected two assists and goalie Dwayne Roloson stopped 35-of-37 shots as Tampa posted its fifth consecutive win in these playoffs. "It means a lot. Once again they played a great game," Lecavalier said when asked if it was important to snag two games on the road to begin this series. "They came after us, but 'Rolie' made some huge saves all night. Even in overtime, they played pretty solid. We took advantage of our chances." Martin St. Louis added a goal and one assist for the Lightning, who have never lost a series after taking a 2-0 lead. Tampa Bay, which was 25-11-5 as the home club this year, were just 1-2 at the Forum in their opening-round series against Pittsburgh.
Recent Trends to Consider:
Capitals are 10-2 in the last 12 meetings in Tampa Bay.
Capitals are 19-7 in the last 26 meetings.
Under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
Underdog is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.
Road team is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.
Lightning are 5-0 in their last 5 playoff games as an underdog.
Lightning are 6-0 in their last 6 Conference Semifinals games.
Lightning are 5-0 in their last 5 vs. Eastern Conference.
Capitals are 1-6 in their last 7 Conference Semifinals games.
Capitals vs Lightning
When: Tuesday, May-03-11, 6:30 PM ET
Pick: Capitals -115
Point-Spreads.com recommends you check out NHL Point Spreads Capitals vs Lightning game.
The Bottom Line: The Lightning have the hotter goalie and are getting goals from multiple players. Be sure to check Capitals vs Lightning Hockey Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
