WASHINGTON — Mitchell Chaffee and Gage Goncalves found the back of the net, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stymied 20 of 21 attempts fired his way, propelling the Tampa Bay Lightning to their eighth straight victory with a 3-1 triumph over the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals on Saturday.
The Capitals faced their third successive defeat for the first time this season, even though Alex Ovechkin inched closer to history by scoring his 884th career goal, now just 10 goals shy of tying Wayne Gretzky’s illustrious NHL record. Before Ovechkin’s late-game goal with 3:59 left on the clock, the Capitals found it difficult to carve out quality scoring opportunities against one of the league’s red-hot teams, and did not offer enough support for their goaltender, Logan Thompson, who managed 16 saves in the game.
On the defensive end, Vasilevskiy proved formidable when needed by the Lightning, the 2019 Vezina Trophy winner and 2021 playoff MVP using his glove to block an early shot and later denying Washington defenseman Matt Roy’s attempt with his right pad late in the second period.
Brandon Hagel put the game out of reach by scoring an empty-net goal with a minute left on the scoreboard.
Takeaways
Lightning: Head Coach Jon Cooper’s squad has discovered a winning formula that could be pivotal in the playoffs, especially if Vasilevskiy maintains this form. The Lightning’s last setback was on February 1st.
Capitals: Despite maintaining a solid lead atop the East and the Metropolitan Division, their margin has shrunk during this rough patch, the lengthiest homestand of their season.
Key moment
With the Capitals pushing hard, Goncalves netted a shot through thick traffic, extending Tampa Bay’s lead to two goals with 13:52 remaining, which ended up being decisive for the victory.
Key stat
Nikita Kucherov added to his impressive streak by assisting on Chaffee’s power-play goal, marking his tenth consecutive game with a point.
Up next
The Lightning are set to face Florida on Monday, while the Capitals will take on Ottawa the same evening.
