A pair of curious Game 3s are on the way tonight with potentially scary consequences for one team. Washington heads into Tampa down 2-0 to the Lightning and with the home crowd hoping to keep the the Bolts on the winning side. Road teams have been successful in the playoffs and Tampa proved that by winning both games in Washington. If they can hold serve at home, they’ll be sending the Caps back home with a lot to think about. The Caps are hoping that playing on the road helps them better focus in to play their game.
Meanwhile the Canucks and Predators do battle in Nashville for the first time in the second round. With a raucous home crowd ready to make the Canucks lives miserable, the attention figures to be on both Pekka Rinne and Roberto Luongo to continue their brilliant play in goal.
All times are Eastern.
Washington @ Tampa Bay - 6:30 p.m. (Versus) - Tampa Bay leads series 2-0
Tampa Bay has to take the kind of play and mentality they’ve used on the road so far and apply it at home. That means getting timely play on the power play with Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis and even better even strength play from the likes of Steve Downie, Dominic Moore, and Sean Bergenheim. Washington needs to stay out of the penalty box and learn to not turn the puck over or have better timing when making a line change. Expect Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble to have big, powerful games tonight.
Vancouver @ Nashville - 9 p.m. (Versus) - Series tied 1-1
The only things that seem certain tonight are that the crowd will be bonkers and that both Pekka Rinne and Roberto Luongo will be on top of their games. Offense is in short supply in this series with the Preds playing everything tight and not giving Vancouver much room to move, one of the league’s best offenses is finding it difficult to keep being nasty. Speaking of nasty, the Predators defense is getting things done and doing their part to give Pekka Rinne a stress-free night as often as possible. While he’s getting wins, those nights aren’t really too stressful. Both teams would like to see their offensive talents pick up here, but with goalies like those two in charge, that wish becomes an awfully long shot.