#CapsBolts Skate Shavings: Pivotal Contest

As they get ready for Game 4 of their third-round Stanley Cup playoff series with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night in the District, the Caps may want to reflect back to previous series. They won Game 4 of their first-round series with Columbus, evening that series at 2-2. And they lost Game 4 of their second-round series with Pittsburgh, leaving that set even at 2-2 as well.

Washington won Games 5 and 6 of both series to get where it is now, up 2-1 heading into Thursday's Game 4. Having been down 3-1 in playoff series in each of the last two springs, the Caps can appreciate how big of a hill that is to climb. And being even after four games in each of their first two series in 2018, they certainly realize the value of being up 3-1 after four games.

"Yeah, definitely," says Caps right wing T.J. Oshie. "There is just such a big difference. It turns every game for the opposition [into one where] you have to press, and you can't sit back. And sometimes, playing like that for 60 minutes, you give some stuff up. You give up some odd-man rushes, and you give up some things you wouldn't normally give up if you were just playing a standard game, if it was 0-0.

"It's going to be important for us to take care of this game. I think all of our emphasis has to be on the start. I think we need to get all guys going. Our strength is in our numbers, 100 percent. The quicker we can get each line going, each line feeling good, I think the more dangerous we're going to be."

Hey, Nineteen -It's been a dozen days now since Washington center Nicklas Backstrom (upper body injury) suited up for a game, and his Caps teammates have managed well without him, winning three of four games in his absence. Backstrom traveled to Tampa for the first two games of the series and he has been on the ice with his teammates at morning skates, but he has not taken warm-ups prior to games in any of the last four contests, despite being denoted as a "game-time decision" on the morning of each of those games.

On Thursday morning, the Caps skated their usual (non-Backstrom) lines, but No. 19 was working with the first power play unit, and he did not stay out late for extra work with the scratched players, perhaps indicating a greater possibility of a potential return tonight.

Caps coach Barry Trotz gave no firm indication one way or the other: "Day-to-day, game-time decision, hasn't been medically cleared," Trotz said, before the question could even be asked after Thursday's morning skate.

We'll know more come warm-up time, but the Caps are hopeful of having Backstrom back tonight, yet they are confident in their ability to win without him if he still needs more time.

"It's always nice to have Nick in the lineup," says Caps goaltender Braden Holtby. "He's a one of a kind player. But we're not focused on that. I think Nick would be the first say that - that he doesn't want us focusing on that.

"If he's going to be in the lineup, he's going to Nick Backstrom. And if he's not, we've just got to focus on being the Washington Capitals. He's a huge part of us but just because he's out doesn't mean he's still not a huge part. He's a huge leader for us and guys want to do it for him if he's out of the lineup. He's the backbone of our team."

Bounce-Back -Game 3 didn't go the Caps' way from the start. Washington was down 1-0 after the first, and it was in a 3-0 hole - it's first three-goal deficit of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs - by the middle of the second period. Fifteen games into the postseason, the Caps have played some great hockey to get this far. Tuesday's game was far from disastrous, it just wasn't to Washington's established standards.

"It probably wasn't as bad as the 3-0 deficit indicated halfway through the game, when we went back and watched the video [Wednesday]," says Caps defenseman Brooks Orpik, "but obviously staying out of the box against this power play and this team is crucial for us and we've got to do a better job of that, but sometimes it's easy to dissect what you're doing right or wrong. I think when you get this far into the playoffs, you've got to acknowledge what you're opponent is doing, too, and this is a very good hockey team we're playing against. They made some adjustments and put us in some uncomfortable positions and situations, and it's our job to recognize those and make the necessary adjustments to counter that."

The Caps are 3-1 following a loss in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, and that one loss was a 5-4 overtime setback in Game 2 of their first-round series with Columbus, a game that some in the Washington locker room will still point to as one of the best games the team has played all season.

In winning the first two games of this set with the Lightning, the Caps put themselves in a spot where they'll win the series if they avoid consecutive losses, which they've managed to so since losing the first two games of their first-round series with the Blue Jackets.

"Last game wasn't what we wanted," says Trotz. "We'll park it. This group has been great at parking stuff. I'm looking forward to the match tonight, and we'll be ready to go. We've just got to get on our toes a little bit. Just like anything, we've made a couple of slight adjustments. [The Lightning] probably will [too]. Let's get at it, nose to nose."

The Caps have been a strong bounce-back team throughout the Trotz era, rarely letting losing streaks fester and generally responding well after poor performances. Tampa Bay put forth a strong bounce-back game on Tuesday after a pair of lackluster performances in its own building, and now Washington will be seeking to do the same.

"We've done a good job of that," says Holtby. "The big thing is that even when we haven't had our best games, we're not far off. Our group has done a good enough job analyzing ourselves throughout this year that we know what areas we can improve on and assess them quickly and just refocus for the next game.

"In saying that, it's not going to come easy just because we've done it in the past, but we've got to use that past experience in order to do it again. You have to have a short memory in order to stay consistent. I think our group has done a good job of that and we're going to have to do a good job of that moving forward."

"For us right now," says Ovechkin, "it's a situation where you don't have to look at what's happened in previous games. Even if we get the win, we still have to forget it and move forward. Right now, it's the time of year when you have to concentrate on next game and next shift. Don't think about what's behind."

During the 2017-18 regular season, the Caps lost a total of 33 games - 26 in regulation and seven in overtime or a shootout. In the 33 games that followed those setbacks, the Caps went 21-9-3.

"I don't think anyone thought we were going to sweep these guys or have an easy series against these guys," says Orpik of the Lightning. "These guys were tops in the east for a reason. But anytime we've faced adversity in the regular season or at times during the playoffs, we've always bounced back and come with a good effort. There's no reason to expect anything different tonight."

In The Nets - Holtby is 10-4 with a 2.18 GAA and a .921 save pct. in the 2018 playoffs, and he has yet to lose consecutive starts. In Tuesday's Game 3, the Lightning reached Holtby for four goals - two of them on then power play - on just 23 shots, ending a run of 21 straight postseason starts in which he had permitted three or fewer goals against.

In 11 career starts in Game 4, Holtby is 6-5 with a 2.15 GAA and a .925 save pct. He has permitted two or fewer goals in seven of his 11 career starts in Game 4, but after winning four of his first five Game 4s in his playoff career, Holtby has dropped four of the last six.

Holtby is 10-3 in his 13 starts in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, but he has been even better in the wake of losses this spring. In three starts following those setbacks, Holtby is 3-0 with a 1.72 GAA and a .944 save pct.

Andrei Vasilevskiy had a strong bounce-back game of his own in Tuesday's Game 3, halting his first two-game slide of the postseason with a 36-save outing to put the Lightning right back into the series.

Throughout the 2018 playoffs, Vasilevskiy has performed better on the road (4-1 with a 1.99 GAA and a .940 save pct.) than he has at home (5-3, 3.14, .898). After losing each of his first three starts at Capital One Arena, Vasilevskiy has won his last two starts here. He and the Lightning earned a pair of 4-2 wins here on Feb. 20 of the regular season and in Tuesday's Game 3 of the ECF.

All Lined Up - We're betting on a Backstrom return tonight, and with that in mind, here is how we expect the Caps and the Lightning to look when they take the ice for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final series on Thursday night at Capital One Arena:

WASHINGTONForwards

8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 43-Wilson

13-Vrana, 20-Eller, 77-Oshie

18-Stephenson, 19-Backstrom, 10-Connolly

25-Smith-Pelly, 83-Beagle, 65-Burakovsky

Defensemen

6-Kempny, 74-Carlson

9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen

44-Orpik, 29-Djoos

Goaltenders

70-Holtby

31-Grubauer

Scratches

1-Copley

22-Bowey

28-Jerabek

39-Chiasson

63-Gersich

72-Boyd

79-Walker

Injured

None

TAMPA BAYForwards

18-Palat, 91-Stamkos, 86-Kucherov

18-Palat, 21-Point, 37-Gourde

17-Killorn, 71-Cirelli, 10-Miller

14-Kunitz, 13-Paquette, 24-Callahan

Defensemen

77-Hedman, 5-Girardi

27-McDonagh, 6-Stralman

55-Coburn, 98-Sergachev

Goaltenders

88-Vasilevskiy

70-Domingue

Scratches

29-Koekkoek

59-Dotchin

62-Sustr

89-Conacher

Injuries

73-Erne (lower body)