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Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning

Sat Oct 37:00 PM ETESPN+Tampa, FL
By JR·2 min read
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Saturday 10/037:00 PM

TLDR: Tampa Bay opened the year by getting boat-raced 5-1 at Madison Square Garden. Saturday is the home opener, and the Capitals come to town with Alex Ovechkin and a roster Washington spent all summer rebuilding.

SAT OCT 3, 7:00 PMESPN+
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Tampa Bay's veteran core (Kucherov, Vasilevskiy, Hedman, Point) opens at home after a 5-1 loss at the Rangers, with Gourde, James and Holmberg all out up front. Washington arrives on the second night of a back-to-back after opening in Carolina, with new forwards Jenner, Kyrou and Tuch around Ovechkin. John Carlson faces the franchise he played for, and how Washington comes out of Friday in Raleigh will shape Saturday's game.

Washington Capitals
  • Jenner, Kyrou, Tuch add real forward depth
  • Ovechkin expected back from camp lower-body issue
  • Second night of a back-to-back, Raleigh to Tampa
  • Sandin out on the blue line with a knee injury
Tampa Bay Lightning
  • Kucherov and Vasilevskiy, reigning Hart and Vezina winners
  • Home opener after a full night of rest
  • Gourde, James, Holmberg all out up front
  • Gave up 5 at the Rangers in the opener

The Lightning are still the Lightning: Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Victor Hedman and Brayden Point, all past 30 and all back. Kucherov is coming off 130 points and 44 goals and a Hart Trophy, and Vasilevskiy has a Vezina. Last season Tampa put up 106 points and still went out in the first round. Brandon Hagel said it plainly this week: "We've been saying it for four years, then nothing's happened in the playoffs." A 5-1 loss in New York is a bad way to start answering him.

Washington comes in having spent the summer adding forwards. Boone Jenner came from Columbus, Jordan Kyrou from St. Louis and Alex Tuch from Buffalo, all joining Ovechkin, who signed on for a 22nd season. The Caps missed the playoffs last spring, and Spencer Carbery now has the deepest group of forwards he's had in Washington. Ovechkin spent most of camp dealing with a lower-body injury but was expected to play the opener.

The schedule is the big storyline here. Washington opens Friday night in Raleigh against the defending champion Hurricanes, then flies to Tampa for this one at 7:00 PM ET the next day. That's a back-to-back with travel in the first 48 hours of the season. Whatever happens in Carolina, including who plays goal and how many minutes the top guys log, decides who the Caps can put out on Saturday.

Tampa's injury list hits one position hard. Yanni Gourde is on the injured non-roster list after hip surgery and is expected to miss about 2 months. Dominic James broke his hand and is likely out most of October. Pontus Holmberg broke his collarbone and is gone for the season. That's 3 bottom-6 forwards, and Cooper has to fill those minutes with what's left. Washington's absences are on the back end: Rasmus Sandin (knee) starts the year on the injured non-roster list, and center Patrick Thomas is on IR.

Then there's John Carlson. He signed a 2-year deal in Tampa at 36 after a 60-point season split between Washington and Anaheim. This game puts him in a Lightning sweater across from Ovechkin, his longtime teammate. Tampa also added Ilya Mikhayev, a fast winger who kills penalties, which the Bolts could use after giving up 5 to the Rangers.

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One game doesn't make a trend, and Tampa has a full Launch Week crowd behind it for the first night at Benchmark International Arena. The question is how the Lightning's core matches up with a deeper Washington group playing its second game in 2 nights. The board stays shut until the Caps finish in Carolina.

Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning — Carlson Faces His Old Team in the Lightning Home Opener | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush