In Washington, DC< Sonny Milano hit for a double and the Capitals thrashed the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-1, on Friday night.
“I thought our compete level was really good tonight. Going from ‘Kuemps’ on out, everybody was dialed in,” said Washington assistant Kevin McCarthy, who served as head coach with Peter Laviolette in NHL COVID-19 protocol. “We played a smart game. You do those things well, you’ve got a good chance to win games.”
Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves in the Caps win.
Washington improved to 7-7-2.
Nick Perbix was the lone striker for the Lightning, he scored in the third period after the Caps had taken a 4-0 lead.
Anthony Mantha staked the Caps to a 1-0 lead midway through the first period.
Tampa dropped to 7-6-1.
The Bolts were scoreless in three power play chances.
“We’ve been struggling a little as of late on the power play (1-for-10 the past three games), and again we get a five-minute major there and we can’t score, and they come out of the box and score,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “Those are turning points in games, and when things are going good you capitalize on those opportunities, and when you’re in a rut you try not to let it snowball.”
Milano scored his first of the night, jumping out of the penalty box and scored on a breakaway.
“Not great,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said when asked about Foote. “He obviously couldn’t come back. That’s a tough hit. That defines the word blindside. It’s too bad we’re playing them again [Sunday] because I doubt [Foote] will be around to see the game.”
Aliaksei Protas pushed the lead to 3-0 in the 15th minute of the middle frame.
“We want to get back on track, obviously,” Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. “You can’t get frustrated, that’s the bottom line. We believe in ourselves, but it’ll be good to get these guys once again.”
Conor Sheary made it 4-0 at 4:53 of the third.
Milano scored his second in the 18th minuet of the third for the 5-1 final.
“It has been pretty smooth,” Milano said of joining Washington. “Everyone has been taking care of me, and obviously a great group of leaders and older guys that I definitely am looking up to.”
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves in the Tampa loss.
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