Washington vs Tampa Bay: Early in the season, the level and readiness of the teams are incomparable

Perhaps the centrepiece of the big NHL game of the day will be in the capital. The Washington Capitals will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Who will be stronger this timeб Ovechkin and Kuznetsov or Kucherov and Vasilevsky? Here are a few bets on this exciting encounter.

The big question regarding the Capitalsэ new season is this: what goals will the team pursue? Will it be Peter Laviolette’s Stanley Cup-fighting squad, or will the Capitals deal exclusively with the record of their leader and captain Alexander Ovechkin, who signed a 5-year contract and is 150-odd goals behind Wayne Gretzky in the race for the best sniper in hockey history? Both are well-intentioned goals. So the dilemma is not an easy one.

However, one does not interfere with the other as much as it seems. Only pucks scored in the regular season traditionally count for the NHL sniper race. The playoffs are strictly a fight for the title. It’s hard to imagine Washington not making the postseason, even if every other pass goes to Ovechkin for a shot. And that’s where a different story will begin, one that an experienced team led by one of the best coaches of our time is undoubtedly ready for under any circumstances. In a perfect world, it would be just like that! Let’s see what the real one has in store.

In their opening league game, Washington easily defeated the New York Rangers, 5-1. Alexander Ovechkin had a double-double and two assists. Evgeny Kuznetsov recorded three assists.

For two consecutive Stanley Cups, the Lightning have been unbeaten. Except for the New York Islanders, but that’s a topic for a separate conversation. The NHL teams, and the league as a whole, were unlikely to be interested in continuing such obvious hegemony. As a result, Tampa became the team most affected by the expansion draft, essentially completely stripped of its third tier, hardly a key one in the championship years.

Coach Jon Cooper and his staff have the difficult task of rebuilding the bottom line. Only two forwards - veteran Corey Perry and Frenchman Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - have been hired to replace Goodrow, Gourde, and Coleman. How the champion mentor will get out of this situation remains a mystery for sure, even to himself.

The first two games of the new season confirmed that the majority of the championship would find the optimal combinations. The Lightning looked awful, losing 2-6 to Pittsburgh and beating a weak Detroit team 7-6 in overtime. Without Kucherov and Stamkos, who combined for ten points, it would have been a disaster.

The Lightning should be put on the roster of seasonal favourites. No matter what is going on with the team right now, Kucherov, Point, Stamkos, Hedman, and Vasilevskiy will not give the cup to just anyone. But early in the season, Tampa will be unrecognizable. Cooper will need time, which he has plenty of. On the other hand, Washington haven’t had such a tremendous offseason upheaval and is ready to continue what Laviolette started in the last championship. Even Evgeny Kuznetsov seems interested in playing hockey again!

The prediction is a solid win for the Capitals.

• W1 for 2.56;
• Handicap 1 (0) for 1.96.