An old adage states that "revenge is a dish best served cold." With that said, a hockey game seems like the best place to seek retribution, much like the Washington Capitals will try to do Monday at Verizon Center against the team that knocked them out off the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Five months ago, Washington and Tampa Bay met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, a series that the latter dominated en route to a four-game sweep. It was the first time the Caps had been swept in the playoffs since the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, something that the team hasn't forgotten.
"We owe them a good game," Mike Green said Sunday. "They obviously took us down last year in four and that's something you don't forget. Doesn't mean we're gunning out there for anybody, just means that we're going to play our hardest game and make sure we challenge them."
While seven Caps that took part in that series are no longer with the team, the Lightning return the core of their team, including Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis among others. Dwayne Roloson will likely start Monday; he shut out the Caps twice within his first week in Tampa Bay after being traded there January 1. On the other side, Tomas Vokoun will make his regular season debut in goal for Washington.