Tampa Bay 5, Washington 4
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, District of Columbia
Referees:
Chris Rooney, Brad Watson
Linesmen:
Scott Cherrey, Brian Murphy
Attendance:
18506
By Field Level Media
Victor Hedman scored 3:01 into overtime, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made a franchise-record and career-high 54 saves as the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals for the second time in five days, 5-4 on Wednesday night.
Nikita Kucherov, the NHL leader with 119 points, scored twice during Tampa Bay's four-goal second period.
Vasilevskiy was stellar at times, but he allowed Washington's Evgeny Kuznetsov to tie the game with 52.6 seconds left in regulation. The Lightning, though, prevailed for their sixth straight win -- one game after clinching the Presidents' Trophy with a victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.
The old Lightning record for saves was 48, set by Ben Bishop in Jan. 19, 2014, and matched by Vasilevskiy on Dec. 13, 2018.
Despite recording a franchise-high 58 shots, to Tampa Bay's 28, Washington had its five-game home winning snapped and could not avenge a 6-3 road loss to the Lightning on Saturday.
The Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals opened the scoring 7:32 into the first, when Lars Eller took advantage of a Lightning turnover and pass from Carl Hagelin to convert top-shelf.
Tampa Bay, though, struck for two early power-play goals over 53 seconds of the second to lead 2-1. Kucherov blasted one home at 1:19 into the period, and Steven Stamkos (three points), the team's all-time goal leader, put the Lightning ahead with the 385th of his career.
Tampa Bay was then rewarded for a hard-working shift as Anthony Cirelli scored off Washington defenseman John Carlson at 6:45 of the middle period for a 3-1 edge.
However, another poor clearing attempt by the Lightning enabled Eller to return the favor by setting up Hagelin's goal at 10:30 into the second. Washington tied it at 3 on the power play, as T.J. Oshie put in his own rebound with 6:20 left in the second frame.
Kucherov put Tampa Bay back ahead on its third power-play goal of the second with just under five minutes left in a six-goal period. But the Capitals equalized late as Kuznetsov recorded his 100th career goal, through the legs of Vasilevskiy.
Hedman, though, came through on a 2-on-1 in the extra session.
Key Washington defenseman Michal Kempny exited with a lower-body injury.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Tampa Bay |
|
Washington |
|
Steven Stamkos 3 |
Points |
Lars Eller 2 |
|
Nikita Kucherov 2 |
Goals |
Lars Eller 1 |
|
Steven Stamkos 2 |
Assists |
Lars Eller 1 |
|
Nikita Kucherov 2 |
Power Play Goals |
T.J. Oshie 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Andrei Vasilevskiy .931 |
Save Percentage |
Braden Holtby .821 |
|
Andrei Vasilevskiy 54 |
Saves |
Braden Holtby 23 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Tampa Bay
|
28 |
5 |
3-3 |
5-6 |
21 |
35 |
| Washington
|
58 |
4 |
1-6 |
0-3 |
15 |
37 |
Upcoming Games
-
Washington will play their next game at home against Minnesota. The Capitals have a W/L % of .568 after a win and .600 after a loss.
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Lightning have a W/L % of .737 after a win and .882 after a loss.
For more information, contact us