Two power play goals from Steve Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov helped the Tampa Bay Lightning get back in their series with the Washington Capitals Monday night with a 4-2 win.
Those two power play goals gave the Bolts a 2-0 lead as they roared back from two listless losses on home ice.
“We believed all along,” Stamkos said. “We knew we weren’t good enough, and credit to them, they played really good hockey the first two games. We needed to make adjustments. We did that. We worked on it. The players went out there and did what we needed to do.”
Victor Hedman struck for a goal and three points on the night and Brayden Point had a goal and an assist in the win.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves as he returned to expected form as well in getting the win.
“He’s our best player,” Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman said. “He’s always there for us, and we did a good job for him tonight. When we’re on, that gives him confidence. And that’s how it should be.”
For the Caps, it was another case of not defending home ice.
“We weren’t playing as sharp as we normally can,” Washington coach Barry Trotz said. “We weren’t executing the way we normally did in the last couple of games. We were just off a little bit, and you can’t be off in this game to have success. We will be better next game.”
Brett Connolly and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for Washington who lacked the enthusiasm seen in their last three games, all road wins.
“We were chasing the game all along,” Trotz said.
Game 2 in Tampa had been a clinical dismantling of the Lightning and the Bolts turned the tables in Game 3.
“Nobody said it was going to be easy,” the Caps’ Alex Ovechkin said. “They’re not going to give us two wins in a row in our house. We just have to play more desperate and play smarter.”
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Braden Holtby made 19 saves in the loss.
“You have to have a short memory and get the rest, regroup and have fun, enjoy the game. No one expected 4-0, right? We all know it’s going to be a tough series. We just have to relax a little bit and stay positive. It’s still fun,” the Capitals’ Evgeny Kuznetsov said after the game.
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