The Tampa Bay Lightning played a much, much better game tonight and it showed. The Bolts offense finally showed up, and the defense was great as well. As for the Caps, their offense could not crack Vasy and took way too many penalties. Things got a little chippy a few times, but things were calm for the most part. Vasy had his best game by far and made some fantastic saves when the Bolts needed him to. The Bolts have now cut the Caps series lead to 1 but still have a lot of work ahead of them. Let’s take a look at how we got here period by period.

First Period

The Bolts got off to a good start early, with some decent chances but most importantly no silly mistakes early. The Caps then put on a flurry of pressure with multiple shots, but Vasy stood tall and kept the Caps off the board. Despite the Caps having most of the pressure, the Bolts were definitely the more physical team. The Bolts then put on some pressure of their own as Johnson walked in and nearly put one past Holtby but was denied. The Bolts put on some more great pressure but then took a bad penalty. Stralman would get 2 for boarding and send the Caps to their first PP of the night. The Bolts penalty kill and Vasy would kill it off though and keep this game scoreless. The Caps then would make their first mistake as Holtby would get called for tripping and send the Bolts to their first power play of the night. The Bolts power play was on full display tonight as Kuch and Stammer ripped a few shots on net but Holtby stopped them all. They would try it one more time though as Stamkos rifled one right past Holtby for yes a 1-0 LEAD! The Caps put on some pressure but Vasy was not about to let them tie it up. The Bolts nearly got one more goal as Stralman threw one in the front of the net but just missed his man. As time winded down, the Caps grabbed a few more chances but Vasy stopped them all. The Bolts would head into the locker room looking much better than previous starts.

Goals: 1-0 Tampa Bay

Shots: 14-10 Washington

Second Period

The Bolts got off to another great start as they got the Caps to take an early penalty. Lars Eller held on to the puck for just a tad too long and would get 2 for delay of game. The Bolts PP then went to work and this time it was Kucherov who rifled one home for a 2-0 lead! The Bolts kept on pushing and did not let their foot off the gas. Kucherov then slid the puck to Hedman who tapped it home to make it 3-0 Bolts! The Bolts were playing their best game yet and they kept the pressure coming. Things didn’t get better for the Caps as Lars Eller went back to the box, this time for slashing. The Bolts got a few nice chances but the Caps were able to finally shut them down. Both teams started to sling the puck back and forth in the neutral zone but neither team could get something going. The Bolts then made a pass and Connoly made them pay as he intercepted it and rocketed one past Vasy to bring the Caps within 2. Capital One Arena was rocking now, and the Caps got a few more nice opportunities. The Caps then had a 3 on 1 with a huge opportunity but Vasy made 2 huge stops to keep the Bolts 2 goal lead. Callahan would then get called for roughing and send the Caps to their 2nd power play of the night. Things really started to heat up with tons of close chances in front. Both Stralman and Hedman would get shaken up on the PK but seemed to be ok. The Bolts would successfully kill off the penalty though and get back to full strength. The Bolts never looked back though as Point then somehow found the puck despite all the traffic and put it in the back fo the net to regain the 3 goal lead! Time in the second would then wind down and for the first time, the Bolts had a lead heading into the final 20.

Goals: 4-1 Tampa Bay

Shots: 25-18 Washington

Third Period

The Bolts got off to another great start as they played lockdown defense, not letting the Caps get anything going. The Caps would then get another chance to turn things around as Killorn would get called for interference and head to the box. The Caps got a couple of huge chances but the Bolts PK unit successfully killed it off again to maintain their 3 goal lead. Things started to get chippy again as a few cross checks were given out, Both teams would be given cross-checking minors and we would play 4 on 4 hockey. Just a few mins into the 4 on 4 Johnson would be shaken up on the play and Michal Kempny would get 2 for cross-checking. The Bolts would not be able to capitalize on the 4 on 3 power play but killed off 2 valuable minutes. Kuznetsov would then head to the box as he was called for a high stick. The Bolts wouldn’t capitalize on the PP but another 2 minutes were taken off the clock. As time began to wind down, both teams got a few more chances but neither team could put one in the back of the net. The Caps would pull Holtby for one last shot at tying this game. Oshie then made a nice pass to Kuznetsov who put one in the back of the net to make it a 2 goal game. The Caps kept on pushing but Vasy kept turning them away. Despite multiple chances, time would eventually wind down and the LIGHTNING WOULD GET THEIR FIRST WIN OF THE SERIES!

Goals: 4-2 Tampa Bay

Shots: 38-23 Washington

3 Stars

1. Victor Hedman (1G, 2A)
2. Andrei Vasilevskiy (38SV)
3. Nikita Kucherov (1G, 1A)

Up Next and Final Strike

Wow was this a different Lightning team that showed up tonight. The Bolts were clicking on all cylinders. The power play looked impressive with some excellent puck movement and scoring 2 critical goals. The penalty kill was massive as well killing every penalty the Bolts took. Vasy was also huge as he made stop after stop and kept the Bolts in this game. The Bolts finally ended up making too many silly turnovers and played a much more aggressive game. The Bolts will still need to bring their A game though as they look to even this series. With that said I think the switch has been flipped and the Bolts will keep this up heading into game 4.

The Bolts will look to tie this series at 2 games a piece as they take on the Caps in game 4 Thursday, May 17th at 8:00 PM