Caps face off with the Bolts tonight in Tampa
Philipp Grubauer will get his first start of the season tonight against the Lightning. This is Grubauer’s third full season in the NHL, and in each of those seasons, his first starting assignment has come a earlier and earlier into the season.
Grubi is 3-0-0 in his three career appearances against the Lightning, with a 2.09 GAA and a .935 save pct.
For the Lightning tonight, Andrei Vasilevskiy will get his third consecutive start at the outset of the 2017-18 season. Each of his first two starts this season came against Florida, and he went 1-1-0 in those outings. Lifetime against Washington, Vasilevskiy is 0-3-0 with a 4.38 GAA and an .874 save pct
Forwards for tonight’s game
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 13-Vrana
65-Burakovsky, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
10-Connolly, 20-Eller, 39-Chiasson
79-Walker, 83-Beagle, 25-Smith-Pelly
Defensemen for tonight’s game
9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen
44-Orpik, 74-Carlson
55-Ness, 4-Chorney
Starting goaltender tonight
31-Grubauer
Scratches 29-Djoos, 91-Graovac, 43-Wilson
