At night's end, the Caps owned a 58-28 advantage in shots on net and an 86-51 bulge in shot attempts over the Lightning. But the Bolts went 3-for-3 on the power play while the Caps were 1-for-6. Washington blanked the Lightning's top ranked power play on four tries in a 6-3 loss to the Bolts on Saturday in Tampa Bay, but special teams made the difference in Wednesday's setback.
"It's good to see what we have," says Caps goalie Braden Holtby. "Obviously we competed right until the end there to get a point, but we know there are some areas where we can make it a little more difficult on them, and kind of take a few pointers from their game.
"But they're a good team, and we're a good team. It's been two very close games, and that's what you want going into the playoffs. That's how you can learn the most, and grow your team the most. It's a loss, but it's one that we can really hone in on and analyze, and see those little tiny things that are going to put us over the edge."
For Washington, the worst and most lingering aspect of Wednesday's defeat to the Lightning is likely to be the loss of defenseman Michal Kempny, who left the game and did not return after suffering a lower body injury in a scuffle with Tampa Bay center Cedric Paquette late in the second period. Kempny ranks fourth among Washington defensemen with an average of 19:11 in nightly ice time, and his plus-24 rating is tops on the team.
After the game, Caps coach Todd Reirden acknowledged that Kempny would "miss some time." After playing back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Capitals enjoyed a complete day off and away from the rink on Thursday. More information on Kempny's status should be known on Friday morning, ahead of the game against Minnesota.
While Friday's game is certainly an important one for the Capitals in the tightly bunched Metropolitan Division standings, it's even more critical for the Wild. As far as playoff positioning goes, Minnesota comes to town on the outside looking in. The Wild has lost five of its last six games and is running out of time and opportunities to pick up points as it seeks to make the playoffs for a seventh straight season.
Going into Thursday night's slate of NHL activity, Minnesota stood in ninth place in the Western Conference standings, one point behind Arizona for the second wild berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs. But the Coyotes also hold a game in hand on the Wild, and Arizona has a much softer schedule ahead of it.
Each of Minnesota's final eight games is against a team currently in a playoff position, while only three of Arizona's final nine contests are against teams in the top eight of either conference. Minnesota visits Arizona on March 31, the only remaining game between the two teams.
Most recently, the Wild lost 3-1 to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, finishing off a five-game homestand with an underwhelming 1-3-1 mark.
