Forward Jake Guentzel’s first goal of the season opened the scoring 7:06 into Tuesday’s game.
Guentzel slipped uncovered to the left hashmark, where Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh let a shot-pass fly for the forward to redirect through the legpads of Washington goalie Logan Thompson.
It was the lone goal of the first 20 minutes, a period Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy ended with a flashed glove save to deny a Washington breakaway.
The teams followed with another tight-checking second period, each striking a goalpost and earning a 2-on-1 rush before Washington evened the score late in the frame.
Capitals forward Connor McMichael won a race for the puck behind the Lightning goal line, dishing to Aliaksei Protas at the left goalpost for the tying goal with 2:22 left on the clock.
Tampa Bay didn’t take long to regain its lead in the final period of regulation—in the dying seconds of a power play, Brayden Point got in front to tip a Victor Hedman shot from the top of the power-play setup for a 2-1 lead 1:23 into the frame.
Point thought the Lightning played the structured style they look for in both games of their back-to-back to earn their first standings points of the season. Both he and Cooper postgame credited the power-play group's ability to adapt to new setups as it did on Tuesday.
“It’s just different looks and when things aren’t working, something’s got to change,” Point said of moving spots just prior to the go-ahead goal. “We kind of went to familiar spots there and were able to get one, which was good for our power play. So we’ll see going forward.”
The Capitals tied the game 2-2 a few minutes later, this score also coming on the power play. Forward Tom Wilson got his stick on a Washington shot from the blue line for the tying marker 4:56 into the third.
Vasilevskiy was key again late for the Lightning to help push the game to overtime, halting Washington defenseman Jakob Chychrun’s shot in the final minute of regulation that lofted the goaltender’s stick from his blocker hand.
“Vasy’s gotten better with every single game and I thought he was in command of his game tonight,” Cooper said. “It’s good for him and us.”
Chychrun wound up being the one to end the game 1:19 into overtime, scoring on a backdoor pass from Wilson for the 3-2 win. The latter led all players with three points on Tuesday.
Like his teammates, Lightning defenseman JJ Moser took multiple positives from Tuesday’s game despite it ending in a loss.
