Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning Rivalry is Great for the Game

Two games in the span of five days plus another one still to come, the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning picked up where they left off from last May in their rivalry. Honestly, a lot of people would love to see these guys go at it again this May.

The Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning have always had some bit of a rivalry going. Before there was a new alignment for how the divisions would be sorted out, the two teams were Southeast Division rivals. I’ve been a Capitals fan for about 16 years and the season before I fully came on board to follow the team these guys met each other in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Capitals won the first two games of that series in Tampa Bay, giving them a 2-0 series lead before coming home to Washington in what was then called the MCI Center. Of course, as we’ve learned throughout the years, home ice advantage doesn’t necessarily matter during the playoffs. Even though the Capitals stole Tampa’s, the Lightning responded by winning the next four games to end Washington’s season.

In 2011, these teams met again. The Capitals, one year after surrendering a 3-1 series lead and falling in the first round, were coming off an emotional high of putting the Rangers away in five games. They drew the Lightning in the second round but the success didn’t carry over. The Lightning swept them in four games.

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Last season we saw how good the Lightning were and after coming off yet another emotional high, this time beating their bitter rivals the Penguins, a lot of experts said the Capitals didn’t stand a chance against the Lightning. That their second round win over the Penguins was their Stanley Cup. Narrator voice: It wasn’t.

The Capitals won the first two games in Tampa to steal their home ice advantage and head back to Washington with a 2-0 series lead. Sound familiar? It almost was. The Lightning won the next three games to put the Capitals on the ropes.

Then the Capitals played with a championship mentality and a killer instinct. That killer instinct allowed them to play their best game in Game 6 with a 3-0 win to keep their season alive as well as a 4-0 win in Game 7 to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

During the first two playoff meetings, the rivalry might’ve taken a bit of a hiatus. Granted they still were division rivals in the Southeast. Did they like each other? Of course not. But it wasn’t like rivalries between the Penguins, Flyers, or Rangers.

This time around, this rivalry has a chance to be even bigger. The Lightning have won the Presdients’ Trophy and have been rolling on all cylinders. The Capitals have played throughout the season with the elite status of being the defending Stanley Cup champions. That isn’t easy, playing an entire season with a target on your back for the other 30 NHL teams. You get everyone’s best game every night. Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of ups and downs but Washington has been playing their best hockey to date and they’ll be determined to defend the crown this spring.

As a fan, I love this rivalry with Tampa Bay. It’s not as storied as the Capitals against the Penguins, but it’s got it’s own unique flavor to it. These types of rivalries featuring the best teams in the conference and incredible offenses on both sides is great for the game.

Wednesday night’s game might’ve been the best hockey game we’ve seen all season. It featured thrilling goals, another clutch moment for Evgeny Kuznetsov, and an overtime thriller. Although the Capitals lost, I wasn’t mad. They played well, especially on the second night of a back-to-back against a rested opponent.

A lot has to happen for these teams to meet again in the playoffs but here’s hoping both teams get to the Eastern Conference Finals once again. As the kids would say, it would be another lit series.