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2011 NHL Playoffs: Tampa Bay Lightning Look to Topple Washington Capitals and Take 3-0 Lead in Series

The Tampa Bay Lightning return to the St. Pete Times Forum tonight at 6:30 PM and will attempt to turn the series into an uphill climb for the Washington Capitals. A win tonight puts the Lightning within 60 minutes of a sweep of the favored Caps and earn a much-needed rest while the other series shake themselves out.

Lightning coach Guy Boucher has been playing a series of mind games with the Capitals and coach Bruce Boudreau, indicating his team is capable of much better. The Lightning, however, will have to combat the fatigue of the playoffs, having played every other day (excluding one day off after their 2OT loss against Pittsburgh in Game 4) since the playoffs began.

The Lightning, however, have posted a stunning 97.8% penalty kill in the playoffs. Even without Simon Gagne and Pavel Kubina in Game 2 (both are still listed as day-to-day), the team didn't miss a step. Behind Martin St. Louis and his team-leading five playoff goals, the Bolts will use tonight's game to gain a permanent upper hand in the series.

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.