Since the Tampa Bay Lightning returned from their Global Series matchup in Sweden, they’ve been a dominant possession team. A welcome contrast to how they started the season. The lingering problem has been inconsistent play in their own end in addition to below average goaltending. Last night, Tampa Bay played as well as you could have asked in their own end, but still ended up losing after a lethal power-play went 0-for-7.
Metrically, this game isn’t pretty. Washington controlled 56% of the shot attempts at 5v5. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story. Quality wise, it was near even with the Capitals generating an xGF% of 50.