If you would have told me that Tampa Bay would win both games one and two, AND steal home ice advantage from the number 1 seeded Capitals, I would have punched you right in the mouth and told you to go back to your home on Whore Island.

While I thought the Lightning would certainly win ONE game, I can honestly say I didn’t see them winning two ON THE ROAD. So much for me trying to establish myself as an accurate predictor of playoff outcomes. Oh well.

So what is the key to Tampa Bay’s success? Easy – Their Penalty kill and overall defensive play has been nothing short of spectacular. They have found away to completely disrupt the Capitals offensive rhythm, and capitalize on their mistakes with timely goals. In game 1 they shut down Ovechkin, holding him to a whopping 2 shots on goal. Between the two games they have also successfully killed all 11 Capitol power plays.

Also worth a mention, Dwayne Roloson, at age 41, has also shown to still have a little something left in the tank. So far just enough to keep the Capitals from finding the back of the net. And finally Vinny Lecavalier. This dude came to play this series outperforming superstar Ovechkin with 2 goals and 2 assist in the 2 games.

So where do we go from here? The Capitals have dug themselves in quite hole here, with any momentum carrying over from the Rangers series gone. The game 2 loss in overtime, due to a bad line change after tying the game with a minute left, is certainly going to be a monumental hurdle to overcome. But, given all the talented firepower on the Capitals have, I believe they’ll come back. So as to not completely abandon ship, I’m just going to revise my original prediction to Capitals in 7.