Caps 5, Lightning 2
For the first time since Dec. 21 the Caps managed to score five goals in a game. That was more than enough to grab a big Southeast Division victory at St. Pete Times Forum over Tampa Bay. Nicklas Backstrom had two goals and two assists and Alex Ovechkin had a four-point night himself, including his 20th goal of the season.
That’s the second time this season Backstrom has had a four-point game against the Lightning. Ovechkin hadn’t had one at all. Brooks Laich and Jason Chimera had the other goals for Washington, which closes to three points in the division at 28-15-10 and 66 points. Tampa Bay drops to 32-16-5 with 69 points. Both teams return to the ice on Sunday.
Had to feel good for the Caps to finally get to Dwayne Roloson. The veteran goalie had shut them out twice in January, but allowed four goals on 35 shots. Meanwhile, Semyon Varlamov appears determined to take over the No. 1 spot for Washington. He stopped 23 of 25 shots and had several big saves late to keep the Caps in front. Varlamov has now played 21 games this season and ranks third in the NHL in save percentage (.928) and fourth in goals-against average (2.13). That’s a strong push by the 22-year-old as Michal Neuvirth recuperates from a groin injury.
Washington scored a power-play goal for the second game in a row. First time they’ve accomplished that since Dec. 1 and 2 against St. Louis and Dallas. That’s a big boost heading into Sunday’s showdown with the Penguins at Verizon Center. They actually allowed a power-play goal in the second period when Brett Clark scored for Tampa. That snapped a streak of 27 in a row for the Caps, who have killed 103 of 117 since Nov. 24 (88%).
The tone of this one was set early. Washington got in Roloson’s face in the first period and both Matt Hendricks and Matt Bradley earned fighting majors in the first 15 minutes. There were plenty of fireworks later, too, with Tampa’s Steve Downie right in the middle of it as always. Roloson flipped out on Hendricks at one point with multiple punches to the back of the head as both earned penalties.
The Caps also tried some tactical changes against the Lightning’s 1-3-1 defensive system. That makes lugging the puck through the neutral zone tedious so Bruce Boudreau’s crew held onto it as long as possible in the defensive end and tried long pass after long pass to break through. They seemed willing to take the inevitable icings using that strategy in parrt because they dominated in the circle, winning 41 of the game’s 68 faceoffs (60%). And getting the lead early in the second period didn’t hurt either. That was at odds with the last game in Tampa on Jan. 4 where the Lightning created one turnover after another, counterattacked well and smothered Washington in the second and third periods on the way to a 3-0 win.
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