The 2020 postseason will be unlike anything we’ve seen before, and it starts for the Caps on Monday when they kick off their round-robin tournament against the top teams in the Eastern Conference. And while the tournament merely determines seeding, the Caps will have their hands full with a trio of tough opponents.
First up? A Monday afternoon meeting against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Let’s break it all down.
Season Series: Caps 3-0
Playoff History
Three Tampa Players to Watch
Key Injuries
Steven Stamkos – Stamkos has been sidelined since teams returned for training camp, and is questionable for the first round-robin game
Special Teams
Bottom Line
On paper, the Lightning are probably better, deeper team than the Caps. After some early-season blues (perhaps a bit of a hangover from that little first-round sweep the previous spring) they started to hit their stride and were starting to look like the Tampa juggernaut of seasons past when everything came to a stop.
Still, the Caps have always matched up pretty well against the Bolts – or at least they have in recent years (do we need to bring up 2018 again? Yes) – and never seem to be intimidated by them. In a one-game matchup (and with the Caps continuing to have the physical edge over Tampa), that can only work to their advantage.
So… who you got?