Hagel gets 4 points, Lightning edge Capitals for 3rd straight win

WASHINGTON -- Brandon Hagel had two goals and two assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Washington Capitals 5-3 at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists before leaving the game early in the second period after a hit from Washington forward Tom Wilson.

Anthony Cirelli had a goal and an assist, and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored for the Lightning (12-7-2), who have won three straight. Jonas Johansson made 29 saves.

“You love when you can sneak away a win out of some of these things and a bunch of young guys probably not being put in these situations a lot get to be in them,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “So, experience growth time for our team and we come away with two points. I’ll take it.”

Lightning forward Brayden Point went to the locker room in the second period and returned for one shift early in the third before leaving the game.

Jakob Chychrun had a goal and an assist, and Justin Sourdif and Ethen Frank scored for the Capitals (11-9-2), who had won three in a row.

“We had a good streak going there,” Sourdif said. “I thought we were kind of turning it around and we had some momentum coming into this one. I think just back to the drawing board, execution stuff.”

Logan Thompson allowed four goals on six shots and was replaced after Kucherov scored at 18:19 of the first. Charlie Lindgren made nine saves on 10 shots in relief.

Washington captain Alex Ovechkin’s four-game goal streak ended on a night when the Capitals went 0-for-6 on the power play.

“Just not moving the puck quick enough, not being in sync,” Chychrun said. “I think we’re working hard and trying to do all the right things just not executing, not being on the same page at all times."

Sourdif gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 1:06 of the first period when he knocked in the rebound of Wilson’s shot from the point.

Hagel tied it 1-1 with a short-handed goal at 2:53, scoring on a snap shot from the top of the right face-off circle on the rush.

“The shorty was the big one,” Cooper said. “Anytime you get scored on in the first minute of a game, half the team hadn’t touched the ice yet, so that was tough. And then to take the penalty. Now you’re hoping you don’t go down two and 'Hags' gets the big one to tie it.”

Bjorkstrand gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead at 5:21. Kucherov’s shot from the right circle caromed off the near post and over to Bjorkstrand, who scored from the left circle.

Hagel made it 3-1 at 11:36 with a slap shot from the slot off a pass from Kucherov.

“The chances came and they happened to go in tonight and that’s sometimes how it goes,” Hagel said. “Right spot, right time.”

Kucherov pushed the lead to 4-1 when he took a stretch pass from Hagel and finished a breakaway at 18:19.

“There’s just lapses there that even though you can talk all you want about how well we were playing and controlling play and generating… all those things, which were doing, you can’t make those types of mistakes against a team like that,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said.

Chychrun pulled the Capitals within 4-2 at 5:26 of the second period. He controlled a puck along the boards before spinning and sending a shot that deflected off Lightning forward Gage Goncalves' left skate past Johansson.

Johansson stopped Ovechkin on a breakaway at 3:40 of the third period.

Frank cut the deficit to 4-3 at 5:24 with a wrist shot stick side from the right circle.

Washington had a 5-on-3 power play for 1:08 before taking a penalty.

“I liked how the group was able to step up and really show the kind of depth we have in this locker room and the kind of character we have in this room,” Hagel said. “We had massive adversity, having to kill a 5-on-3 and guys were still keeping their heads up and moving forward."

Cirelli backhanded in a loose puck from in tight at 15:51 for the 5-3 final.

NOTES: Cooper did not have an update on Kucherov or Point after the game. ... Cirelli's goal was his 24th short-handed point, passing Vincent Lecavalier for the third-most in Lightning history. … Chychrun has nine points (three goals, six assists) in a career-long seven-game point streak. … Washington defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk played in his 700th NHL game.