Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Game 7 Betting Odds, Start Time, TV Channel

The final half of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals matchup will be determined Wednesday night during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Washington Capitals Wednesday night with hopes of advancing to a meeting with the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

Game 7 starts at 8 p.m. EDT at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. NBC Sports Network will have the TV coverage and a live stream can be seen online with NBC Sports Live.

The Lightning are -143 favorites, according to the betting odds at OddsShark, and the Capitals are +129 underdogs. The over/under is 5.5 goals.

It’s been a back-and-forth series that first looked like it might end with a sweep. The Capitals took the first two games on the road before heading home with a chance to clinch on their home ice. The Lightning then showed why they are the East’s No.1 seed, winning two games in Washington as well as Game 5 in Tampa. The Capitals forced Wednesday’s winner-take-all contest by winning Game 6 at home.

Washington last made the Stanley Cup Finals 20 years ago when they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings, though they’ve certainly had their chances to get back. The Capitals have reached the NHL Playoffs in all but five seasons since, including a string of 11 consecutive postseason appearances. Never have they gotten this close to making it back to the finals.

“I'm excited. We're all excited. ... We all want to be in this position and move forward,” star Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin said Tuesday, via ESPN.com.

“[This Game 7] is probably biggest game in my life, this team, organization probably. ... We still haven't reached our goal. Tomorrow is going to be a huge step forward.”

Even though the Lightning have been around for nearly 20 fewer years, they have experienced much more postseason success than the Capitals. Tampa Bay won the title in 2004 and returned to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015, ultimately losing in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Lightning needed just 10 games to get through the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Capitals won a pair of six-game series, beating the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the conference semifinals and moving one step closer toward making franchise history.

No Washington sports franchise has advanced beyond the conference finals since the Washington Redskins won the Super Bowl in 1991.