Capitals-Lightning rivalry continues to grow with OT thriller

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals claimed it didn't mean more than any other regular-season game, but with each shot they fired at Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy on Wednesday, it sure seemed that way.

The urgency they played with was clear, so perhaps there was a bit of an empty feeling when Victor Hedman's goal with 1:59 left in overtime gave the Lightning a 5-4 victory at Capital One Arena.

The Capitals had a team record 58 shots on goal, and Vasilevskiy set a Lightning record with 54 saves. If not for Evgeny Kuznetsov's tying goal with 52.6 seconds remaining in the third period, Washington, which outshot Tampa Bay 58-28, would have left empty-handed.
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But the Capitals at least got one point for reaching overtime, which extended their Metropolitan Division lead to three ahead of the second-place New York Islanders. For now, they'll have to settle for that after losing to the Lightning for the second time in five days; Washington lost 6-3 at Tampa Bay on March 16.
"This was a fun game to play and I believe we played pretty well tonight and just did not score," said Kuznetsov, whose goal was the 100th of his NHL career. "But that's better when you have the chances and you did not score than [if] you played like a bad team and you end up winning. I can trade those type of games when you lost a game like that than if you play bad and get win."

Maybe the Capitals will say something different if they don't play as well and defeat the Lightning in the final regular-season game between the teams at Amalie Arena on March 30 (7 p.m. ET; NHL Network, SUN, NBCSWA, NHL.TV). But it's clear they're sizing each other up in this three-game miniseries should they meet again in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Capitals got the best of the Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final last season, shutting them out in Games 6 and 7 after trailing in the series, 3-2. Washington went on to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final to win its first championship.
Tampa Bay (57-13-4) clinched the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season team with a 4-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Monday, but the Capitals have what they want most. That was evident last Saturday in the first game between the teams of this season.
The Capitals pushed back hard Wednesday, despite having played Tuesday at the New Jersey Devils (4-1 win) while the Lightning waited for them in Washington.
But the Capitals couldn't find a way to win.

Their downfall was Tampa Bay's power play, which went 3-for-3 in the second period, including two goals and the game-winner from Nikita Kucherov, who leads the NHL with 119 points (37 goals, 82 assists).
"We're not going to go home and cry over this game," said Capitals forward Carl Hagelin, who had a goal and an assist. "I thought we played hard. We played well. I thought as a team we showed a lot of resilience. They got three goals on the [power play] and you can't, first of all, put them on it. I don't think the PK was terrible, but they don't need much."
The Lightning may have home-ice advantage already secured, but with five more wins they'd match the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings' NHL record of 62, and they need 14 points (out of a maximum of 16) to equal the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens' NHL record of 132 points.
That can serve as some motivation, but they're relying on games like this one to keep them playoff ready. They know nothing they do in regular season can erase what happened against the Capitals in the playoffs last season and insist these regular-season games are not about setting the tone if they each get to the conference final again.
"I think the tone was set last May," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "I know it's fun to play them. We know that they are an elite team in this league, but I don't think anybody is sitting here saying, 'Oh, this is a tone-setter.' There's so much that has to happen. Ultimately, we'd have to win two rounds and so would they to get back to that spot. We'd be taking a lot for granted just to say it's going to affect things in May.

"But I think last year's playoffs, that was enough to set a tone."
The Lightning knew they got away without playing their best Wednesday, mostly thanks to Vasilevskiy. They were happy to get the win, though.
"Obviously not up to our standard, but [Vasilevskiy] was," Hedman said. "We've got to tip our hat to him and the PK (5-for-6) today. I think that won us the game tonight."
The Capitals chose to focus on the positives, but they'll be ready to throw whatever they have left at the Lightning again on March 30.
"I'm hoping that we build on that game again for when we go back there," Washington coach Todd Reirden said. "Obviously, it's great for our team to play in those type of games against a really good hockey team. That's going to make us better and we're always hoping to win every one we're in. Oftentimes you'll see teams that have success versus an opponent in the regular season, it doesn't always carry over.
"We're going to play because we need the two points, and it's going to be a good challenge and there's a little bit of animosity and rivalry forming with them. They're fun games for our guys to play."