Fortunately, the Bolts avoided a similar fate in this game, one in which they netted three first period goals. Not surprisingly, the first period was the Lightning's strongest. Yes, they scored the three goals. But they also dictated most of the puck possession. That's because they played strongly in all three zones. For much of the frame, they effectively got out of their own end cleanly. In the neutral zone, they moved the puck up ice smoothly when they had it and closed off Washington rushes when they didn't. But their best work came in the offensive zone, where the Lightning were relentless in their puck pursuit. They forced numerous turnovers - one of them led directly to Brayden Point's early power play goal. Also, they were hungry to retrieve 50-50 pucks and that's what happened on the shift that ended with Chris Kunitz's tally. Another extended offensive zone shift led to a Washington clear and rushed line change. Before the Caps could get reset with their fresh players, Anton Stralman reversed the puck to Point, who outraced the Washington players to the front of the net and scored his second goal of the game. It's true that first period shots were only 8-8, but the period decisively belonged to Tampa Bay.
That wasn't the case in the second and third. The Caps raised their level and the Lightning weren't as clean in their execution with the puck. As a result, the Capitals had a lot more puck possession than the Lightning in the final 40 minutes. That is reflected in Washington's 29-11 shot advantage once the second period began. Still, the Lightning did a pretty good job of limiting Washington's Grade-A chances. Andrei Vasilevskiy made some key saves on those isolated Washington scoring chances. He was especially sharp during a Washington flurry late in the second, which came after Lars Eller had gotten the Caps on the board with a power play goal in the middle of the frame.
Alex Ovechkin's third period goal brought the Caps to within one, but Nikita Kucherov took away Washington's momentum when he answered Ovechkin's tally less than two minutes later. Braydon Coburn intercepted a pass in the Lightning end and was able to spring Kucherov on a breakaway. Kucherov used his "stickhandling" move to score - he put his stuck over the puck, which slid between the pads of Braden Holtby.
Compared to their defensive performance against the Devils on Saturday, this game was a big improvement for the Lightning. Yes, they probably would have preferred to own more puck possession in the final two periods and, at points, their puck management could have been cleaner. But Washington's high shot total was not indicative of a high scoring chance total. And the work the Lightning did in the first period was superb - it allowed them to build a lead that they did not relinquish.
Lightning Radio Big Moment of the Game:
Kucherov's third period goal.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
