Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Lightning look to rebound in Game 2 vs. Bruins

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2018 NHL postseason. There were two Game 2s Sunday.
Here are the scores from Sunday:

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Eastern Conference

Washington Capitals 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 1

Western Conference

Nashville Predators 5, Winnipeg Jets 4 (2 OT)

On tap

There are two games on Monday, one in each conference.
The Lightning will try to rebound from a defeat in Game 1, their first home loss of the playoffs, to even the series before it shifts to Boston. To do so, Tampa Bay will need to slow down the Bruins' top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, which has combined for 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in eight playoff games. Those three had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in Game 1 against the Lightning, including four-point games for Pastrnak (four assists) and Marchand (one goal, three assists).
Vegas Golden Knights at San Jose Sharks (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS) -- The Golden Knights have had many firsts this season, and on Monday we get to see how they respond from their first playoff loss. The series shifts to SAP Center for Game 3 tied 1-1 following a double-overtime win by the Sharks in Game 2. Something will have to give since Vegas won both of its games in Los Angeles in the first round and San Jose is 2-0 at home in the playoffs.

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What we learned

Here are some takeaways from Day 19 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Capitals special teams continue to be special

The Washington Capitals special teams made the difference in their 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on Sunday. The Capitals power play, which was limited to one 32-second opportunity in Game 1, scored on its first chance of Game 2, getting a goal from rookie Jakub Vrana that made it a 2-0 game with 5:06 remaining in the first period. The Capitals power play is 10-for-31 (32.3 percent) during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their penalty kill went 3-for-3 on Sunday and has killed off 22 consecutive power plays dating to Game 2 of the first round against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Penguins not starting well

Pittsburgh knew Washington was going to come out strong to try and tie best-of-7 series 1-1. But the Penguins did not match the intensity. They were sloppy, they had little time in the offensive zone and were outshot badly (Washington had a 20-10 edge after the first period). The Penguins can't keep playing catch-up.

Predators won't panic

The Nashville Predators, in danger of going down 2-0 in the Western Conference Second Round, fell behind 2-1 in the first period and gave up the tying goal with 1:05 remaining in the third. But the Predators found a way to win Game 2 and even the best-of-7 series 1-1 before heading to Winnipeg's noisy Bell MTS Place for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday. The Predators didn't dominate play like they did in a 4-1 loss in Game 1, but displayed a calmness and a resolve that comes from having plenty of playoff experience.

Jets showed they belonged

Winnipeg can feel pretty good after two games. The Jets won a game on the road and now return to their very friendly rink, where they have won 12 in a row. The Jets, with 114 regular-season points, were quick enough and strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the Predators, who won the Presidents' Trophy with 117 points.

About last night

Washington Capitals 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 1 -- The Capitals jumped to a 2-0 lead for the second time in the series, but made it stick in Game 2 and evened the best-of-7 series at 1-1. Braden Holtby made 32 saves and Alex Ovechkin scored for the Capitals. Kris Letang scored and Matt Murray made 28 saves for the Penguins, who were without center Evgeni Malkin for the third straight game because of a lower-body injury.
-- Kevin Fiala scored 5:37 into the second overtime of Game 2 to get the Predators even in the best-of-7 series. The Predators looked to have the game wrapped up in regulation, but Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele scored his second goal of the game with 1:05 remaining in the third period to tie the game 4-4. It was the longest overtime game in the history of the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets franchise.

Need to know

Fiala scored his second overtime goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (he scored in Game 3 of the first round against the Chicago Blackhawks last year) to became the first Predators player to score multiple overtime goals in the postseason. Fiala, 21, is the fourth player in the past 30 years (since 1988) to score two overtime goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs before celebrating his 22nd birthday, joining
Jaromir Jagr
(Penguins), Alex Galchenyuk (Montreal Canadiens) and Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.