In their first game back in Tampa Bay since clinching their historic Stanley Cup final berth, the Washington Capitals knew the Tampa Bay Lightning would be seeking revenge. Washington, however, was unable to replicate their Eastern Conference Final Game 7 success, falling to Tampa 6-3 Saturday.
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta (44) blocks a shot from Washington Capitals center Travis Boyd (72) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
AP Photo/Jason Behnken
Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov (9) steals the puck from Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Alex Killorn (17) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
AP Photo/Jason Behnken
Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Ondrej Palat (18) handles the puck against Washington Capitals left wing Carl Hagelin (62) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
AP Photo/Jason Behnken
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (77) skates away as Washington Capitals Nicklas Backstrom (19), Alex Ovechkin (8) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) celebrate Ovechkin’s goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
AP Photo/Jason Behnken
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) shoots during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
AP Photo/Jason Behnken
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) makes a save during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
AP Photo/Jason Behnken
Tampa Bay Lightning Tyler Johnson (9) and Brayden Point (21) celebrate Johnson’s first period goal as Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (70) watches the replay during an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
AP Photo/Jason Behnken
Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Alex Killorn (17) celebrates his first of two goals during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Tampa, Fla.
(AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
In their first game back in Tampa Bay since clinching their historic Stanley Cup final berth, the Washington Capitals knew the Tampa Bay Lightning would be seeking revenge. Washington, however, was unable to replicate their Eastern Conference Final Game 7 success, falling to Tampa 6-3 Saturday.
There was no shortage of goals in the opening frame, with the Lightning striking first.
Tyler Johnson scored a goal for the fourth straight game, bringing his season total to 26 thanks to a quick pass from Brayden Point. Less than two minutes later, Alex Killorn netted a goal of his own to give Tampa a two-goal lead.
Soon after, John Carlson fired a slap-shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy to cut the deficit to one. Carlson now has points in five straight games.
However, Killorn would soon put the Lightning back up by two, beating Nick Jensen one-on-one and crashing the net for his second score of the night.
Washington would go up a man in the dying minutes of the opening period, but couldn’t convert, while also taking two additional penalties before heading to the dressing room down 3-1 after one.
The Caps would go back to the power play around eight minutes into the second period, where Alex Ovechkin would score his league-leading 47th goal of the season from the face-off circle to make it a 3-2 game.
Erik Cernak put Tampa up 4-2 early in the third period, but Ovechkin responded with his second goal of the game and 48th of the season to pull Washington back within one with a little under six minutes remaining in regulation.
Washington was unable to get anything else past Vasilevskiy, who made 31 saves in the win. Killorn earned his first career hat trick on an empty-netter, and Yanni Gourde also scored on the empty net to secure a 6-3 victory.
The Capitals will face Tampa two more times in the final nine games of the season as they look to keep hold of the Metro Division lead.
