Game #17 Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When: November 10, 2007, 7:00 PM

History:
Caps Record on this Date: 5-7-1-0
Caps Game 17 Record: 14-12-6-0
All-Time vs. TAM: 43-22-6-4
Last Season vs. TAM: 2-4-2
Last Meeting: 10/24/07, WAS 5 TAM 3

This Year:
WAS Record: 6-9-1
Standings Points: 13
Division Rank: 4^th
Conference Rank: Tied 13^th
Last Game: 10/8/2007, WAS 4 OTT 1
Streak: Win 1

TAM Record: 7-8-1
Standings Points: 14
Division Rank: 2^nd
Conference Rank: Tied 8^th
Last Game: 11/8/2007, TAM 5 CAR 1
Streak: Win 2

Probable Line-Ups:
Washington
Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 92 NYLANDER, 56 BOURQUE
Forward Line 2: 43 FLEISCHMANN, 19 BACKSTROM, 25 KOZLOV
Forward Line 3: 18 PETTINGER, 39 STECKEL, 15 GORDON
Forward Line 4: 87 BRASHEAR, 21 LAICH, 10 BRADLEY
Defense Pair 1: 26 MORRISONN, 23 JURCINA
Defense Pair 2: 2 POTHIER, 55 SCHULTZ
Defense Pair 3: 52 GREEN, 3 POTI
Goalie: 37 KOLZIG
Back-up Goalie: 1 JOHNSON

Tampa
Forward Line 1: 20 PROSPAL, 4 LECAVALIER, 26 ST. LOUIS
Forward Line 2: 17 HLAVAC, 19 RICHARDS, 7 OUELLET
Forward Line 3: 24 KARLSSON, 77 GRATTON, 16 WARD
Forward Line 4: 36 ROY, 29 MACDONALD, 74 TARNASKY
Defense Pair 1: 54 RANGER, 71 KUBA
Defense Pair 2: 55 O’BRIEN, 37 LUKOWICH
Defense Pair 3: 39 LUNDIN, 32 SMABY
Goalie: 40 HOLMQVIST
Back-up Goalie: 30 DENIS

Injuries:
Washington – 14 FEHR (hip) IR, 17 CLARK (ear laceration) IR, SEMIN (ankle) IR
Tampa – 22 BOYLE (wrist) IR, 27 TAYLOR (hip) IR

Caps Milestones:
Alexander Semin needs 4 Points to reach 100 for his career
Chris Clark needs 3 Points to reach 100 with the Capitals
Matt Pettinger needs 5 Points to reach 100 for his career
Brian Pothier needs 7 Points to reach 100 for his career
Tom Poti needs 4 Assists to reach 200 for his career
Michal Nylander needs 6 Goals to reach 200 for his career

Preview:
The Caps defeated the once beaten Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Thursday while the Bolts dismantled the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1. Both teams are trying to regain form after a losing stretch. Tampa has been woeful on the road with a 1-3-1 record. The Caps want to continue the hard nosed determined play that brought them a victory in Ottawa. The key is to get secondary scoring. Thursday saw goals from Niclas Backstrom and Tomas Fleischmann. The Caps also need to stay out of the penalty box. They fought off 5 Ottawa power plays and Tampa is ranked #8 in the league with a 20.9% conversion rate. Look for the Caps to keep the pressure on the Tampa forwards and try to control the game with puck possession. This should be a high scoring game with lots of tempo.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 6 TAM 4.

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