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The Capitals are getting the spotlight for finally overcoming the Penguins, but they have their work cut out for them with the East's best Lightning awaiting in the conference final. Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)

Eastern Conference Final preview: Lightning look to bring Capitals back down to Earth

By Chris Mueller | Last updated 5/9/18

The Eastern Conference Final is here, and while one of the participants is very familiar with this setting, the other hasn’t been here in 20 years. The Tampa Bay Lightning are playing in their third conference final in the last four seasons and finished the season as the top seed in the East. The Bolts aren’t the story, though. That distinction belongs to the Washington Capitals, who finally exorcised their Pittsburgh demons and bounced the Penguins out of the playoffs, ending their bid for a third straight title.

This wasn’t supposed to be Washington’s year. Unlike previous campaigns, where they were burdened with great expectations from the first puck drop, this year’s Caps weren’t expected to be a big threat. Despite finishing first in the Metropolitan Division, they had some issues, namely in goal. Braden Holtby lost the net to Philipp Grubauer and watched from the bench as Grubauer opened the playoffs as Washington’s goalie.

Holtby got his chance to ride to the rescue when Grubauer faltered against Columbus, and he took full advantage, ripping off four straight wins against the Blue Jackets to take that series, then repeatedly denying the Penguins to send Washington through the second round for the first time in the careers of Alex Ovechkin and Barry Trotz.

While this series does pit the East’s top two seeds against each other, one seems to have a clear advantage. The Lightning have more talent than Washington, and they seem to be peaking at the right time after dispatching the Boston Bruins with relative ease. Tampa Bay will be well-rested, and the Lightning boast nearly the same level of high-end offensive skill that the Penguins have, plus better depth throughout the roster to boot.

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Washington’s best chance to win rests with Holtby and a continuation of the same strategy the Caps used to bottle up the Penguins in Game 6 of their series. Washington clogged the neutral zone with a 1-4 or 1-1-3 look and took away the Penguins’ creativity in the neutral zone. Tampa Bay likes to do some of the same things, and some of their most talented players aren’t particularly big, so forcing them to grind out offense and win physical battles may pay dividends.

The Capitals will have to counter-punch Tampa Bay whenever possible and desperately need Nicklas Backstrom to play right from the start. If he misses a game or more, or plays but is significantly compromised, Washington likely won’t have enough firepower to compete.

Tampa Bay merely needs to stick with the formula it's used all year: be devastating on offense, solid if unspectacular on defense, and rely on Andrei Vasilevskiy to be very good and at times great in net. The Lightning should feel like this is a particularly great opportunity — they don’t have to try and go through Pittsburgh again, and they should match up well with whatever opponent survives the West.

The look on Ovechkin’s face when Evgeny Kuznetsov clinched the series against Pittsburgh was one of pure relief. However, for Ovechkin and his teammates, it’s out of the frying pan and into the fire. Unless they are able to play lock-down defensive hockey, the franchise’s long-awaited return to the conference final could be brief.

The guess here is that Holtby steals a game and Washington pushes the Bolts a bit — but never enough to make them particularly uncomfortable. Tampa Bay was the best team in the East all season, and nothing has changed in the playoffs. Lightning in 6.

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