Capitals vs. Lightning: Lines, Key Stats, Game Notes, Who To Watch

After a 2-1 shootout loss on Wednesday, the Washington Capitals are looking forward to shaking things off quickly and moving on as they face the Tampa Bay Lightning in a critical matchup less than 24 hours later.

Here is everything to know ahead of puck drop.

Washington Capitals Projected Lines

Here is what the lineup should look like for Thursday's tilt down south.

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson

Aliaksei Protas-Nicklas Backstrom-T.J. Oshie

Anthony Mantha-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Craig Smith

Conor Sheary-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Martin Fehervary- John Carlson

Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen

Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk

Darcy Kuemper will get the start, head coach Peter Laviolette said. Kuemper stopped 28 of 29 shots (.966 save percentage) in Wednesday's defeat. 

Sonny Milano is still recovering from an upper-body injury and will miss his third straight game. He skated on Wednesday, though, in a non-contact jersey.

Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Key Stats & Who To Watch

Washington is fresh off a 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Islanders where the team played a hard-nosed defensive game, blocked a lot of shots and, for the most part, kept things tight to escape with a point and move five points back of a playoff spot.

After dropping three straight contests, Tampa bounced back on Tuesday with a 4-0 shutout win over the Carolina Hurricanes. The season hasn't gone exactly according to plan for the Lightning, but the team remains in playoff position down the stretch,

Here are key stats for both sides:

Washington: 3.13 goals per game (20th), 3.05 goals against per game (14th), 21.9 power-play percentage (12th), 83 penalty-kill percentage (5th)

Tampa Bay: 3.39 goals per game (10th), 3.05 goals against per game (13th), 24.9 power-play percentage (5th), 79.6 penalty-kill percentage (16th)

When it comes to players to watch for the Capitals, keep an eye on Conor Sheary, who's on a four-game point streak, and Alex Ovechkin, who has points in six of his last seven. Nic Dowd also has points in three of his last four outings.

For the Lightning, look out for Nikita Kucherov, who has 104 points this season and points in two of his last three games. Steven Stamkos has also been hot and has points in six of his last seven. Brayden Point also has points in three of his last four, with five points in that span.

Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Playoff Implications

With a regulation win and a regulation loss for the Pittsburgh Penguins (vs. Nashville) and a regulation or overtime loss for the Florida Panthers (at Montreal), Washington would move within four points of a playoff spot.

Puck drop is at 7 p.m. at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.