Lightning at Capitals preview

LIGHTNING (56-13-4) at CAPITALS (43-23-7)
7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN

They are six victories from tying the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for the NHL single-season record (62). The Lightning, 17-2-0 in their past 19 games, clinched the Presidents' Trophy, Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division with their 4-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.
Washington is 9-2-0 in its past 11 games. The Capitals defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Tuesday and lead the New York Islanders by two points for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Lightning defeated the Capitals 6-3 on Saturday, when they played each other for the first time since the 2018 Eastern Conference Final.

Players to watch

Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is 15-1-2 with a 1.79 goals-against average, .942 save percentage and three shutouts in his past 18 starts.
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in his past 16 games and is one goal from tying Brendan Shanahan (656) for 13th place on the NHL all-time list.

They said it

"A lot of times the opponent brings it out in you, and it will be no different tonight just because we've had some really good games. Even the last one. I know it was Game 60-something on the schedule or 70 or whatever, but it felt a little playoff vibe to it, and I would think tonight would be very similar now that they're back on their home ice." -- Lightning coach Jon Cooper on keeping focus after clinching the Presidents' Trophy
"We know what happened last game we played them. I think we're going to come out a little hungrier and try to be more physical, and make sure we have the puck in a little deeper from the start." -- Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom

Lightning projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Steven Stamkos -- J.T. Miller
Tyler Johnson -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- Mathieu Joseph
Adam Erne -- Cedric Paquette -- Yanni Gourde
Victor Hedman -- Mikhail Sergachev
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Braydon Coburn -- Jan Rutta
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Louis Domingue
Scratched:Ryan Callahan, Danick Martel, Cameron Gaunce
Injured: Dan Girardi (lower body), Anton Stralman (lower body)

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin -- Lars Eller -- Brett Connolly
Andre Burakovsky -- Nic Dowd -- Chandler Stephenson
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik -- Nick Jensen
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Christian Djoos, Dmitrij Jaskin, Travis Boyd
Injured: None

Status report

Girardi, who was day to day, is out indefinitely. … Stralman is close to returning but won't play on this three-game road trip, according to Cooper. … The Capitals held an optional morning skate.

Stat pack

Kucherov has 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in his past 18 games. … Ovechkin is one power-play goal from tying Luc Robitaille (247) for fourth place on the NHL all-time list. … Kuznetsov needs one goal for 100 in the NHL.