WASHINGTON _ The Lightning and Capitals needed extra time to solve Friday's game. Three minutes into overtime, Dmitry Orlov wristed a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy to give Washington a 4-3 win.
The Lightning held a comfortable lead going into the third period, or at least as comfortable as a lead gets against the Capitals. Tampa Bay led by two and had seized some momentum by limiting Washington to five shots in the second period.
That lead didn't last, though. First, Jakub Vrana brought the Capitals within a goal 3:45 into the period. He beat Vasilevskiy so cleanly that he was the only one to react at first, the arena taking a couple of beats before erupting.
Vrana placed his shot near side and Vasilevskiy slid over to the post, extending his pad. It looked routine. But Vrana raised his arms in celebration and the official pointed to the net, signaling goal.
Alex Ovechkin then tied the score with 8:24 to play. He beat Vasilevskiy with a rocket of a one-timer from the top of the left circle _ his favorite shot from his favorite spot. Ovechkin is the leading active scorer against the Lightning with 91 points in 70 games.
Brayden Point had gotten the scoring started with a power-play goal late in the first period. First Victor Hedman made a nice play to keep the puck in the zone. The Lightning cycled around until Nikita Kucherov sent a slick centering pass to Point in the slot, and he redirected it home.
Mikhail Sergachev added to the Lightning's lead 4:28 into the second period, also on a feed from Kucherov. He put a shot on Braden Holtby, which the goaltender got a piece of. Sergachev followed his shot as the puck dribbled through Holtby's legs and made sure it continued across the goal line.
The defenseman followed that up with a penalty, however, creating an opening for the Capitals. Evgeny Kuznetsov took advantage, bringing Washington within one, 2-1, with a power-play goal.
Alex Killorn gave the Lightning some breathing room with a beautiful goal with 1:12 left in the second period. He sniped a shot through traffic to hit the far corner of the net. That breathing room just didn't last.
