Lightning at Capitals preview

LIGHTNING (39-17-3) at CAPITALS (34-18-7)
7 p.m. ET; SNP, TVAS, SUN, NBCSWA, NHL.TV

The Capitals are 2-1-2 in their past five games and lead the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins by one point in the Metropolitan Division. The Lightning have lost three of their past four and have a one-point lead on the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division.
Defenseman Michal Kempny, acquired by the Capitals from the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday for a conditional third-round draft pick, will not dress but expects to play Thursday against the Florida Panthers.
Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL in points (77). Washington forward Alex Ovechkin leads the League in goals (35) and needs seven to reach 600 in his NHL career.

Players to watch

Lightning forward Steven Stamkos has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past 12 games.
Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in his past 11 games.

They said It

"If anybody's looked at our schedule and watched the amount of road games that we've played, being able to fit [practice time] in has been tough. Don't take that as an excuse. The bottom line is we've got to win some more battles in our d-zone. That's what led to some of our problems." -- Lightning coach Jon Cooper
"I'm not in tonight. I need everything settled down a little bit. New teammates, new people around here. … But I'm really happy and glad that I can be here." -- Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny

Lightning projected lineup

Yanni Gourde -- Steven Stamkos -- Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Chris Kunitz -- Vladislav Namestnikov -- Ryan Callahan
Adam Erne
-- Cedric Paquette -- Matthew Peca
Victor Hedman -- Anton Stralman
Mikhail Sergachev -- Dan Girardi
Andrej Sustr -- Braydon Coburn
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Scratched:Slater Koekkoek, Cory Conacher, Jake Dotchin
Injured:Ondrej Palat (lower body), Peter Budaj (lower body)

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- T.J. Oshie
Brett Connolly -- Lars Eller -- Andre Burakovsky
Chandler Stephenson -- Jay Beagle -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Christian Djoos -- John Carlson
Brooks Orpik -- Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched, Alex Chiasson, Michal Kempny
Injured:None

Status report

Sustr will play after taking 23 stitches to close facial cuts resulting from a broken visor during a 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. … Holtby will start after allowing six goals on 33 shots before being pulled in a 7-1 loss at Chicago on Saturday. Grubauer, who relieved hm, played Monday in a 3-2 win at the Buffalo Sabres.

Stat pack

Vasilevskiy is 1-4-0 with a 3.58 goals-against average and .892 save percentage in five games against the Capitals. The Lightning have scored at least one power-play goal in eight of their past nine games. … Carlson is third among NHL defensemen with 47 points (11 goals, 36 assists). Washington is 13-0-2 in its last 15 home games against the Lightning.