The first home game back after a long road trip can be challenging, and after returning from the Pacific time zone, the Lightning might not have been as crisp as they’ve been in recent weeks. But they gamed it out in a tough contest against an excellent opponent. They rallied from an early deficit, posted a power-play goal for the second straight game, managed the final 40 minutes without Ryan McDonagh, and scored the eventual game-winning goal in the third period to break a 2-2 tie.
The Capitals created some isolated but dangerous chances throughout the game that Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped. He finished with 28 saves. The two goals he allowed, however, were ones he usually stops. Brandon Duhaime slipped a shot from a tough angle past him at 4:06 of the first, and John Carlson’s second-period slapshot squeezed through him and was knocked by Erik Cernak over the goalline at 17:08.
But that would be it for Washington. And the Lightning became the first team all season to score more than three goals on Logan Thompson. Their first tally came just over two minutes after the Duhaime goal. Off the rush, Jake Guentzel set up Emil Lilleberg in the slot for an open shot, and Lilleberg knuckeballed the puck past Thompson’s glove at 6:07. Later in the period, Guentzel was left open in front during a Lightning power play, and he tipped in a Victor Hedman slapshot at 15:09. The winning goal came off the stick of Brandon Hagel for the second straight game. It was also the second straight game in which Dominic James picked up the primary assist. On a re-entry, James cut to the slot and criss-crossed with Hagel, who angled to the middle and wired a shot (again) past Thompson’s glove at 8:42.
Despite ceding some possession time in the final 10 minutes, the Lightning defended hard to limit chances. While they themselves only posted four third-period shots, they allowed only eight SOG in the third. Vasilevskiy stopped all eight, and the Lightning earned their seventh victory in the last eight games.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Brandon Hagel — Lightning. GWG.
- Charle-Edouard D’Astous — Lightning. Two assists.
- Jake Guentzel — Lightning. Goal and assist.
