The narrative of this contest shifted throughout the night, as the game had some twists and turns to it. Here are some general themes: the Capitals carried most of the play, Vasilevskiy was terrific and the Lightning decisively won the special teams battle. But let's dig a little deeper into how this one unfolded.
In the first period, the Capitals were the more dangerous team. The Lightning struggled with puck management and turnovers, both in the defensive zone and neutral zone. That fueled Washington's attack. One of those turnovers led to Lars Eller's breakaway goal at 7:32. The Caps were effective at not only getting pucks to the Lightning net, but also finding room to create Grade-A looks. At the other end, the Lightning had some effective shifts on the forecheck - they forced the Caps into some turnovers of their own. But unlike the Capitals, the Lightning didn't translate offensive zone possession time into shots or scoring chances.
That script changed early in the second period. The Lightning took the lead with a pair of power play goals in the opening 2:12. The first came off a nice passing play - Kucherov zipped a right circle shot past Braden Holtby. On the second, J.T. Miller won the offensive zone faceoff and Steven Stamkos stickhandled to the slot, where he scored on a wrist shot.
Those two goals not only gave the Lightning the lead, they momentarily changed the game's momentum. The Lightning began generating chances during five-on-five play and cashed in for a third goal at 6:45. Deep in the Washington end, Mathieu Joseph stole the puck from John Carlson and angled to the slot, where he put a shot off the post. Anthony Cirelli put in the rebound, banking it in off Carlson's skate.
Following the Cirelli goal, the Lightning were outshooting the Caps, 7-1, in the period. But then the Capitals pushed back and dominated the rest of the frame. They outshot the Bolts, 21-4, over the final 13 minutes of the period and netted two goals. Again, the Lightning's puck management issues aided Washington's surge. The Caps also gained momentum from two second period power plays. The Lightning had done an excellent job killing off a pair of first period penalties. They held the Caps to only one total shot during the first two kills. That was not the case in the second. Washington posted nine shots during the two second period power play chances and got a goal from T.J. Oshie on the second of those.
The Oshie goal tied the game at three, but the Lightning regained the lead with another power play goal before the period ended. Stamkos and Kucherov teamed up on a dazzling passing sequence, moments after the Caps failed to execute a clear and got caught out of position.
In the third period, the Caps posted 19 more shots (reaching a three-period total of 56). They received two more power play chances and eventually tied the game in the final minute with Holtby on the bench for a sixth attacker. Ten of their 19 shots came during the power plays and sixth attacker situation. They also had a mini-surge after the second of those power plays (when they posted a handful of the nine other shots). But in terms of overall five-on-five play, the Lightning had their best period of the game. They improved their puck management and, as a result, enjoyed most of the five-on-five puck possession time and produced a high volume of scoring chances.
Both teams were defending well during the opening minutes of overtime. But when Victor Hedman closed on Alex Ovechkin in the Lightning end, Ovechkin lost his edge - and the puck. With Ovechkin out of the play, Hedman countered on a three-on-two. He took the puck to the front of the net and finished a backhander, winning the game for the Lightning.
This was far from the Lightning's cleanest performance. But in the end, they prevailed thanks to Vasilevskiy and their ability to win the special teams battle.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Brian Engblom):
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Lightning. 54 saves.
2. Lightning PK - Killed five of six Washington power plays.
3. Lars Eller - Capitals. Goal and assist.
