There’s plenty to talk about regarding the Southeast Division rival Tampa Ba Lightning: the 2008 draft’s number one overall selection, Steven Stamkos. Barry Melrose’s return to coaching. The myriad of offseason acquisitions. Ryan Malone’s transformation from a near thirty goal scorer to enforcer (sort of).  But the story for this nationally televised game will undoubtedly be Olaf Kolzig’s return to Washington, even more so because he is tentatively scheduled to start.

Kolzig hasn’t played all that much this season, but when he has played he has played well enough to post a 1-1-1 record and a .925 save percentage and, along with fellow netminder Mike Smith, has helped the Bolts to a respectable 5-4-4 start to the season, even as many of their offseason acquisitions including Malone (three points, -2), Gary Roberts (one point, -3), and Radim Vrbata (one point) have sputtered.

Kolzig will be joined in his return to the District by fellow former Capitals Matt Pettinger, who was claimed off re-entry waivers from Vancouver, and Steve Eminger, who was traded (along with Steve Downie and a fourth round draft pick) for Matt Carle, the central piece of the trade that sent Dan Boyle to San Jose, in a move that is not being greeted warmly by Lightning fans. Jeff Halpern (injury) and Jamie Heward (AHL), both of whom are currently under contract with the Lightning, will not be playing.

Although the Lightning have been assembled in a manner more consistent with a twelve year old with a PlayStation than an NHL franchise, they are still sporting a decent record and are in third in the Southeast - although the latter may have more to do with the sorry state of the division than the talent of Tampa’s club. The Capitals need to be aware of the fact that Tampa still has guys who can score and defensemen who can move the puck and avoid going to sleep on the Lightning.

Keys to the Game

Washington
Move the puck around low in the Tampa Bay zone. Tampa’s defense corps is young and inexperienced and Olaf Kolzig doesn’t move all that well these days. If the Capitals keep the puck down low, and keep their forwards buzzing around the net, it’s going to be very hard for the Bolts to keep them off the board.

Tampa Bay
Limit defensive mistakes. With the aforementioned group of young defensemen and the scoring skill the Lightning have, what could really do them are turnovers, bad clearing attempts, and bad positioning.

Players to Watch

Washington
Nicklas Backstrom - he’s looking better every game and now that he’s skating with both Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin he should start producing.

Tampa Bay
Evgeny Artyukhin - he’s a 6′5”, 254 pound forward. You can’t tell me you’re not intrigued.