TAMPA, Fla. _ It was the start the Lightning were looking for, but that was it.
Two power-play goals gave the Lightning the lead after one period Sunday in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It was all Capitals after that.
Aided by another last-second power play goal, this time in the second period, the Capitals rallied past the Lightning, 6-2.
The Capitals lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 with series shifting to Washington D.C.
The Lightning have won five consecutive Game 2s under coach Jon Cooper after losing Game 1 of a series.
Having seized home-ice advantage from the top-seeded Lightning, the Caps also have this going for them: Since 1974-75, teams with a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup semifinals have won 95.1 percent of the time.
The Lightning are 3-1 on the road this postseason, while the Caps are 3-3 on home ice.
When asked before the game if he planned any changes, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said no.
But he quickly amended that answer.
"The only changes needed is everyone has to play way better," Cooper said.
The Lighting then allowed a goal 28 seconds into the game. But, the bounce back from Friday's Game 1 clunker appeared to be in the making when Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos scored power-play goals.
The Lightning outshot the Caps 13-10 in the first 20 minutes. It was a much better effort than in Game 1, when the Lightning managed only two shots on net in the first period.
Then came the second period.
The Capitals clamped down on the Lightning offense, making it hard for the Lightning to get through the neutral zone.
A goal by Devante Smith-Pelly on a two-on-one rush with Mikhail Sergachev back tied the score early in the second period.
Lars Eller made it 3-2 with just more than a minute to play in the period when he scored from in front after Jakub Vrana got the puck from behind the net and fed it in.
The turning point came a minute later when goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was called for a tripping penalty when he caught Andre Burakovsky with his right skate as Burakovsky skated past the net.
It was 4-2 seven seconds later when Evgeny Kuznetsov bounced a shot from the side off Vasilevskiy and into the net.
Vasilevskiy allowed a power-play goal with 2 seconds remaining in the first period of Game 1. While not all were his fault, Vasilevskiy has allowed 10 goals in five periods.
The Caps kept coming in the third, getting goals from Alex Ovechkin and Brett Connolly. Connolly was the Lightning's first-round pick in the 2010 draft, going to sixth overall.
The Lightning trailed 28 seconds into the game when Tom Wilson redirected a shot from Matt Niskanen past Vasilevskiy.
It was an ominous beginning, but one that did not develop into anything worse.
Just under 6 minutes later Wilson was called for goalie interference when he ran into Vasilevskiy while trying to tip a shot past the goalie. The Lightning took advantage.
Stamkos had a shot blocked, but the puck bounced toward Point, who shoveled it past Braden Holtby.
The Lightning took the lead three minutes later when Stamkos one-timed a crossing pass by Nikita Kucherov past Holtby. It was another goal for the top power-play unit. The Lightning had the man advantage when T.J. Oshie was called for a high stick on Victor Hedman.
