Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning: game preview
WashingtonCapitals2026-27: 1-1-0 · 2 pts · 2025-26: 43-30-9 · 95 pts · 12that
Tampa BayLightning2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 50-26-6 · 106 pts · 5thEleven points apart last season
Washington finished last season 12th in the league on 95 points. Tampa Bay finished 5th on 106, and the 2025-26 season series went TBL 2-0-1.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 172
Across 171 completed games, Washington lead the head-to-head 99-51-20.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 14 Oct 2025, Washington were 7th in the league and Tampa Bay 23rd. By 3 Oct it was 18th and 23rd.
Washington out-attempted Tampa Bay 319 to 214
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Washington Capitals
Tampa Bay Lightning
Washington and Tampa Bay are level on chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 2 games for Washington, 3 for Tampa Bay. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Washington, 10 for Tampa Bay.
2025-26: 82 games for Washington, 82 for Tampa Bay.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
Washington
Small sampleTampa Bay
Small sampleBrandon Hagel has 9 points in the last 5 meetings
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away, then who has produced in the last meetings.
Brandon Hagel vs Washington · game by game
See all: Brandon Hagel vs Washington · game by game →Andrei Vasilevskiy has been the difference
Andrei Vasilevskiy faced 100 shots across 4 appearances against Washington and conceded 7, a .930 save percentage against a season figure of .898. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Expected starter after their game on 14 Nov: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Expected starter after their game on 14 Nov: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Logan Thompson
See all: Logan Thompson →WSH · 1-0-0 in 2026-27 Starter estimate from 14 Nov
Also on the roster, 2026-27: Charlie Lindgren .931 (1 GP)
Full game logAndrei Vasilevskiy
See all: Andrei Vasilevskiy →TBL · 2-1-0 in 2026-27 Starter estimate from 14 Nov
Scoring rates point to about 6.1 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Washington3.002.503.212.98
Tampa Bay2.672.333.542.82Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
6 on the injury lists
Washington · injuries
Tampa Bay · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Placed G Clay Stevenson, D Louie Belpedio, C Mike Brodzinski and RW Spencer Smallman on waivers. Released G Cal Petersen and D Jonathan McDonald from their professional tryout agreements. Assigned LW Maxim Schäfer to Cape Breton (QMJHL).
Placed G Clay Stevenson, D Louie Belpedio, C Mike Brodzinski and RW Spencer Smallman on waivers. Released G Cal Petersen from his professional tryout agreement.
Placed D Justin Holl on waivers for the purpose of being loaned to Hershey (AHL).
Placed C Jansen Harkins on waivers.
Placed D Michael Callahan on waivers.
Placed D Michael Callahan, G Mads Sogaard Nielsenon, LD Maxim Groshev, LW Jakob Pelletier and C Nicholas Abruzzese on waivers.
Washington · 2026 draft
See all: Washington · 2026 draft →Tampa Bay · 2026 draft
See all: Tampa Bay · 2026 draft →
Updated after every final