First Period
The early game feeling out period ended abruptly with the
Caps taking the first lead in the game’s fifth minute. It was a matter of persistence, starting with
Dmitry Orlov working himself free to get a shooting lane on the Tampa net. His initial shot was stopped by goalie Andri
Vasilevskiy,and the rebound that found its way to the stick of T.J. Oshie was
stopped on a pirouetting move by Vasilevskiy that enabled him to get his left
pad on the shot. Oshie recovered behind
the Lightning net and fed Orlov, who leaned into a one-timer that nicked
Vasilevskiy’s shoulder on the way through, but not enough to keep the puck from
settling into the net in the far top corner.
The Caps led, 1-0, 4:28 into the game.
The lead lasted 70 seconds, though. A ghastly no-look backhand pass from Michal
Kempny in his own end was put right on the stick of Tampa’s Tyler Johnson. A tic-tac-toe passing sequence later, and it was
Brayden Point putting the puck in the back of the net from close range at the
5:38 mark.
Less than three minutes later, Tampa Bay had its first lead
of the game. With Lars Eller in the box
on a holding call, Steven Stamkos one-timed a pass into the short side of the
net from the left wing circle before goalie Braden Holtby could get across to
close the hole. The Lightning led, 2-0,
8:32 into the period and took that lead to the first intermission.
The Caps held a 15-7 edge in shots on goal and a 23-11 edge
in shot attempts overall. They out-hit
the Lightning, 12-7, and they won 16 of 24 faceoffs (66.7 percent).
Second Period
The Caps opened the period with sustained pressure on the
Lightning, and it yielded dividends five minutes in. Tom Wilson pried the puck off the wall at the
penalty box side of the neutral zone, and Alex Ovechkin scooped it up. He turned and lifted a long saucer pass to
Evgeny Kuznetsov streaking down the left side.
Kuznetsov worked his way around Yanni Gourde, who tried to whack
Ovechkin’s pass out of the air.
Kuznetsov broke in on Vasilevskiy and snuck a shot between the pads to
tie the contest at the 5:18 mark.
Despite consistent pressure from the Caps that kept Tampa
bottled up in their own end, there would be only the one goal in the second
period, the teams going to the locker rooms tied 2-2 after 40 minutes.
The Caps out-shot the Lightning, 14-6, in the second period
and out-attempted them, 24-16.
Third Period
The teams traded momentum in the first half of the third
period, the Caps with the advantage early on, but the Lightning starting to
tilt the ice as the minutes ticked by.
Tampa was gifted an advantage when Lars Eller took his second penalty of
the game. The Caps managed to kill the
power play, but it was for naught as the Lightning scored six seconds after the
penalty expired, Alex Killorn putting Tampa Bay ahead 11:57 into the period.
The goal did seem to take the wind out of the Caps’ sails
for a few minutes. The Caps did rally to put pressure on the Lightning late,
but Anthony Cirelli wrapped things up for the visitors with an empty net goal
with two seconds left to clinch it, 4-2.
Other stuff…
-- The Capitals had three power play chances in the first
period, converting none of the seven shots they managed to put on goal over the
six minutes of man advantage ice time.
-- That makes 0-7, all-time, against the Lightning on home
ice.
-- Washington finished with a 38-20 advantage in shots on
goal and a 65-45 edge in shot attempts.
-- Nicklas Backstrom returned to the ice, recording four
shots on goal (tied for team lead) and winning six of nine faceoffs.
-- Lars Eller took two minor penalties, giving him five in
the last two games. This after going
nine straight games without taking a penalty.
-- Alex Ovechkin had 13 shot attempts, but six of them were
blocked.
-- The Caps played a short bench with Andre Burakovsky
(8:30), Devante Smith-Pelly (8:42), and Jay Beagle (9:27) all skating fewer
than ten minutes.
-- The Caps were 0-for-4 on the power play, despite getting
the players who needed to shoot their shots on goal. Ovechkin had three, and T.J. Oshie and Evgeny
Kuznetsov had two apiece.
-- Smith-Pelly was credited with a team-high six hits.
-- Braden Holtby stopped 16 of 19 shots faced. He is now 35-for-42 in Games 3 and 4 (.833
save percentage).
In the end…
The series is now tied, but that is a matter of
arithmetic. The momentum the Caps
grabbed in Tampa, they surrendered on home ice, and Tampa is now in control of the
series. The best that can be said is
that the home team has lost every game in this series. But that isn’t the sturdiest foundation for
hope as this series heads into its best-of-three phase. The Caps’ mettle is being tested. They have passed the tests presented to them
thus far. They will have to do it again in
Game 5 to avoid facing elimination on home ice in Game 6, a place that has
become a house of horrors in this series.
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