Capitals vs. Lightning Recap: Guentzel's 3 Points Lead Tampa Bay

The Lightning beat the Capitals 3-1 at home. Tampa Bay scored twice in the 1st period, at 2:26 and 16:30, and never trailed. Justin Sourdif tipped one in 7:04 into the 2nd to make it 2-1, but that was all Washington could find. Jake Guentzel sealed it with an empty-netter 17:55 into the 3rd. Tampa Bay outshot Washington 30-21, and neither team scored on the power play. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of 21 shots, while Charlie Lindgren made 27 saves on 29 shots for Washington. Two DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

Jake Guentzel 1+ points (-170 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Guentzel put up a point in 56 of his 81 games last season, with 88 points total. On top of that, Washington was going with its backup goalie on the second night of a back-to-back. - What happened: Guentzel finished with 1 goal, 2 assists, 2 shots on goal and a +3 in 18:18 of ice time, including 4:56 on the power play. That is 3 points against a line of 0.5, a margin of 2.5. He cleared it early, assisting on Charle-Edouard D'Astous's goal 2:26 into the 1st. He assisted on Conor Geekie's goal at 16:30 of the 1st and then scored the empty-netter at 17:55 of the 3rd. - Worth watching: Guentzel and Brandon Hagel each picked up assists on both 1st-period goals. With close to five minutes of power-play time, his 1+ points prop is worth a look again when the price stays in a reasonable range.

Lightning moneyline (-162 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Washington played in Carolina the night before and turned to backup Charlie Lindgren. Tampa Bay also posted a 26-14-1 mark at home last season. - What happened: Tampa Bay won 3-1. The two 1st-period goals were the difference, and the empty-netter late in the 3rd closed it out. The Lightning won 62.5 percent of faceoffs and outshot the Capitals by 9. - Worth watching: Lindgren held up, stopping 27 shots. The angle was Washington on a back-to-back with its backup in net, and the Capitals managed only 21 shots on goal. The same setup is worth a look again, as long as the price does not climb past where we would pass.

How the game played out

The 1st period decided it. Tampa Bay scored twice at even strength, with D'Astous and Geekie finishing and Hagel and Guentzel setting up both. Washington got one back on Sourdif's tip-in, assisted by Jakob Chychrun and Boone Jenner, but Vasilevskiy shut the door after that. Special teams were a wash: Washington came up empty on 2 power plays and Tampa Bay came up empty on 3. Lindgren left the net for an extra attacker late, and Guentzel finished it into the empty net.

Trends to watch

• Tampa Bay leaned on its top forwards. Nikita Kucherov played 22:46 with 5:14 on the power play, Hagel played 22:07 with 4:57 on the power play, and Guentzel had 4:56 on the power play. That volume keeps their point props in play.
• Hagel led everyone with 6 shots on goal and added 2 assists. Kucherov had 3 shots on goal and an assist on the empty-netter.
• Chychrun led Washington with 27:11 of ice time and picked up an assist. The Capitals finished with 21 shots on goal and no power-play goals, so their shot volume is the number to watch.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. For more, see our NHL page, how a player prop works, and how a moneyline works.