Caps Set for Round Robin Date with Bolts

August 3 at Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena

Time: 4:00 p.m.

TV: NBCSW, NBCSN

Radio:Capitals Radio 24/7, 106.7 FAN

Washington Capitals 41-20-8 (90 points)

Tampa Bay Lightning 43-21-6 (92 points)

When they last met in Washington on Dec. 21, 2019, the Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning were two ships poised to diverge in different directions, though neither side knew it at the time. After taking a convincing 3-1 win over the Lightning that night, the Capitals owned a 26-6-5 record, best in the NHL. The Lightning, on the other hand, held a pedestrian 17-13-4 mark, which put it in a tie for 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings at the time.

From that point up until the NHL paused its operations on March 12, the Caps scuffled along with a 15-14-3 record while the Lightning awakened and posted an impressive 26-8-2 mark up to the pause.

On Monday afternoon in Toronto, the Capitals and Lightning return to meaningful hockey for the first time in nearly five months. Monday's Caps-Bolts tilt is the first of a round robin series of games for both teams, featuring the top four teams in the NHL's Eastern Conference.

Over the weekend, the NHL's return to play commenced with two days packed with continuous playoff - or "play-in" - hockey stretching for a dozen hours a day. Boston and Philadelphia played the first Eastern Conference round robin game on Sunday afternoon, with the Flyers prevailing by a 4-1 count.

On Monday, the Caps finally dip their toes into the postseason waters against the Lightning. The round robin will conclude this Sunday when the Caps face Boston, and the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs will get underway days after that.

"It's definitely very exciting," says Caps right wing T.J. Oshie of returning to meaningful hockey on Monday. "We play this game for the competition, and really for the chance to be in this situation. For us, to put ourselves in the best position possible when round one starts, but just a lot of excitement. I don't typically get nervous, but when you take this amount of time off you get a little nervous to get out there. You just want to make sure you don't make a big mistake that will cost the team. But it's exciting, and I can't wait to get out there and play a game for real."

Together and training since July 13 when they opened their phase 3 training camp, the Caps have played just one exhibition game - a 3-2 win over Carolina on Wednesday - and a couple of intrasquad camp scrimmages. They last played a game that counted in the standings exactly 21 weeks ago, taking a 3-2 shootout loss at the hands of the Sabres in Buffalo on March 9 in what turned out to be the last of 69 regular season games in '19-20.

Caps defenseman John Carlson - a Norris Trophy finalist - left that Wednesday exhibition game against Carolina midway through the third period with an undisclosed injury. After an off day on Friday, Carlson was treated for his ailment on Saturday evening. His status for Monday's game is unknown, as the Caps conducted their Sunday media availability prior to their afternoon practice session.

Like the Caps, the Lightning came out on the right side of its only exhibition outing ahead of the round robin. Tampa Bay trounced cross-state rival Florida 5-0 on Wednesday.

"I think the game against Florida was pretty good," said Lightning forward Ondrej Palat on Sunday. "But we're excited to play Washington [on Monday]. It's going to be a bit different game. We can't wait to get going."

The Lightning seem likely to have Norris Trophy finalist Victor Hedman in their lineup for Monday's round robin opener, but star center Steven Stamkos seems less likely to suit up.

"We've never really - in any of our plans - had him playing in this first game," said Lightning coach Jon Cooper on Sunday, when asked about of Stamkos' status. "I'm not sure any of that has really changed."

During Tampa Bay's Sunday media availability, Cooper was asked about his philosophy for these three round robin games, which will determine the seedings of the four participants going into the Stanley Cup playoffs. But while that seeding is important, it's also critical for teams to get be ready for playoff-level hockey and intensity after a long layoff, and to get ailing players ready for battle.

"To me, it's whatever is going to put our team in the best position possible to win our first-round playoff game. That's the goal all along. Usually when you're getting your team to that point, winning some games beforehand comes hand-in-hand - not always, but usually it does. But our goal in the end is, let's get our team ready for Game 1 when it arrives."

The Lightning coasted to the Presidents' Trophy with a dominant 128-point season in 2018-19, finishing 21 points ahead of the next closest team in the league. But the Bolts were unceremoniously bounced from the playoffs in a first-round sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Tampa Bay followed last year's playoff disappointment with an uneven and, at times, rocky start to the 2019-20 season. But the Lightning posted the best record in the NHL from the holiday break to season's end, and they did so despite some ordinary power play numbers over that same span.

Although the Lightning led the League with an average of 3.5 goals per game from Dec. 22 to the end of the season, its power play outfit clicked at a rather ordinary 17.4% rate over that same stretch, ranking 22nd in the league in the process.