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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Pavel Kubina added a little more momentum to the Tampa Bay Lightning's drive for a playoff berth.
Kubina scored on a power play 37 seconds into overtime Thursday night, giving the defending Stanley Cup champions a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals. The win was the Lightning's third in its last four games.
"It's a huge extra point for us because there's a lot of teams chasing us from behind," Kubina said.
The victory enabled the Lightning to remain in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of seventh-place New Jersey and three ahead of Atlanta in the race for eight playoff berths.
"This is a good hockey team," Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella said. "We get in, if we get in, we're going to be a dangerous hockey team."
Craig's goal with just over 7 minutes left in regulation wiped out a 3-2 lead the Capitals took on Alexander Ovechkin's second goal of the night. Officials originally credited Vincent Lecavalier with scoring the tying goal, but gave it to Craig after Lecavalier said he did not get his stick on the puck.
Kubina took a pass from Brad Richards and slipped the puck past partially-shielded goalie Olaf Kolzig for the game-winner.
"We came back three times," Tortorella said. "It was tremendous as far as that's concerned. But as far as our concentration level and what we have to do to continue to get better, I thought we were a sloppy team."
Ovechkin's goals were his 45th and 46th of the season and boosted his NHL-leading rookie point total to 90. He also had an assist, giving him five goals and four assists in seven games against Tampa Bay.
John Grahame rebounded from a subpar performance in the Lightning's 6-5 overtime loss to Florida on Monday night to stop 27 shots. Kolzig finished with 33 saves.
"Calm, cool, collected," Craig said of Grahame. "He made the saves when he had to make them tonight. ... He prepared himself to play after a tough game at Florida, and he came back just like we all thought he would."
Ovechkin's point total is tied for the sixth-most in Caps history. His shot from the top of the left circle gave Washington a 1-0 lead barely 5 minutes into the game, and the rookie added an assist on Matt Pettinger's power-play goal that gave the Capitals a short-lived 2-1 lead in the third period.
Tampa Bay rallied early on Dan Boyle's power-play goal in the first period and Ruslan Fedotenko's 23rd goal of the season, which made it 2-2 less than a minute after Pettinger had given Washington the lead.
But Ovechkin wasn't finished. After taking 10 shots in the first two periods, he took three more in the third and put Washington ahead 3-2 with his second goal with 9:53 remaining in regulation.
The Capitals had a chance to seize control of the game in the second period, but failed to take advantage of a 5-on-3 opportunity. They also couldn't score when Tampa Bay's Nolan Pratt drew a four-minute penalty for high-sticking.
"That's the game, killing that off," Tortorella said.
Washington coach Glen Hanlon agreed.
"We had our chances," he said.
Notes: Ovechkin's first goal made him the highest-scoring Russian-born rookie in NHL history, breaking a tie with Sergei Makarov, who had 86 points during the 1989-90 season. Sergei Fedorov (1990-91) and Alexei Yashin (1993-94) are third on the list at 79. ... The Caps have scored at least one goal in the first period in nine consecutive games. ... Boyle has four goals and four assists against Washington this season.
Other games on March 23, 2006
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