NHL Preview Roundup (Part V)
Continued from part IV...
Washington at Tampa Bay (7:30 p.m. ET)
After snapping a seven-game losing streak, Tampa Bay Lightning has done remarkably well to recover from the slump by winning four games in a row, and will give its best shot to take the winning streak to five as it hosts Washington Capitals on Tuesday at
Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa, Florida.
Tampa Bay overcame Boston Bruins (5-3), Dallas Stars (2-1), Phoenix Coyotes (4-3) and Columbus Blue Jackets (4-2) after losing seven games.
Tampa Bay’s recent success came against Blue Jackets in which it scored in every period to dominate the opponent.
After playing 48 games, Tampa Bay is ranked at 12th spot in the National Hockey League (NHL) Eastern Conference with 46 points.
Washington, unlike Lightning, has not maintained any streak lately. It has been losing and winning games at regular intervals leaving no chance for predicting what the team could do in its next game.
Capitals played its last game against Boston Bruins. The game was evenly matched by the end of second period, 3-3.
However, Capitals registered a surge and netted two goals in the final period to win the game, 5-3.
Mathieu Perreault, who scored a go-ahead goal, completed his career hat trick.
Capitals’ forward, Matt Hendricks, said of Perreault that:
“Kid's been working extremely hard all season. He's been in and out of the line-up.”
He added:
“He comes to the rink with that smile on his face and he's got a great personality, great guy to be around. I feel great for him. I'm so happy. Everybody else in this room I'm sure feels the same way."
Capitals are ranked third in the Eastern Conference with 55 points after 48 games.
Nashville at Minnesota (8: 00 p.m. ET)
Nashville Predators has only lost two games this month and it would certainly want the record to stay the same when it will play against Minnesota Wild in the final game of the month on Tuesday at the Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Nashville, currently on a four-game winning streak, has won 12 out of its last 14 games. With 64 points after playing 50 games, it is ranked at fifth spot in the competent NHL Western Conference.
Predators defeated Chicago Blackhawks (3-1) in the last game in which the latter could only score in the final period.
On the other hand, Minnesota, which is not impressive as Predators, is on a two-game winning streak.
After playing 49 games, it is ranked at eight spot in the Western Conference with 55 points.
The last victory came against Colorado Avalanche (3-2), thanks to Carson McMillan, who scored the only goal of the final period to give his team a decisive lead.
While sharing the reason behind success, Wild’s goalie, Niklas Backstrom said:
"When you start to think too much, it creeps into your head instead of just playing hockey."
He further said that:
"We went out there to just try and play our game and do the right things and see what happens. We did a lot of good stuff out there, and it worked for us."
To be continued...
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