New month begins and sees two streaks carry on after the Tampa Bay Lightning walk away with an impressive win over the Washington Capitals. Not only did the winning streak extend to eight games, but Brandon Hagel also extended his scoring streak to ice the game. Defeating the Capitals would not be simple as they are one of the best teams in the league and also one of the highest scoring teams in the league. Penalties plagued both teams in the first two periods with only one goal total surrendered on the man-advantage. Despite some shaky plays on defense, Tampa remained composed and never gave the Capitals a chance to claw back in.
Capitals score first?
Starting off, Lightning nearly scored in the opening minutes of the game, but Logan Thompson was able to make the save. Offense continued to work, and the defense was doing a good job of keeping the puck out of the zone. Soon after, Alex Ovechkin was sent off for hooking giving Tampa Bay the first power play of the afternoon. Washington has the fourth best penalty kill in the league so scoring would not be an easy task. As expected, Capitals kill off the penalty and the game remains scoreless. Jacob Chychrun scored off a Lightning turnover, but the goal would be reviewed. What we all thought was a challenge for goalie interference turned out to be for something else. Lightning challenged the goal for a missed game stoppage due to a high stick.
Challenge successful, game remains scoreless
Then, after a lengthy review the goal was overturned, game remained scoreless, and it was a successful challenge. Washington nearly scored on a 3-on-2 but Vasilevskiy was able to make the save. Tampa had to do a better job handling the puck as Washington is a team that will punish you for turnovers. Next, Lightning would get their second power play of the game after a slashing call on Pierre-Luc Dubois. Once again, Capitals kill off the penalty and it was a rather quiet period for Thompson. Period remained quiet until Tom Wilson surrendered a tripping penalty on Nikita Kucherov.
Third attempt is the one that yields results
Third time’s the charm as this time the Bolts score on the power play. Mitchell Chaeffee scored his 11th of the season to give Tampa a 1-0 lead late in the period. Afterwards, Washington would get their first on the power play after Emile Lilleberg is called for holding. Capitals would not score before the period ended and would carry over the 47 seconds into the second period. Lightning led 1-0 at the end of the first period.
Cleanin' up on the power play ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/5hHVn0Bt3I
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 1, 2025
More penalties emerge
To begin, Lightning killed off the penalty and never gave the Capitals a good look on net. Would not take too long for Washington to go back on the power play and looked to tie the game up. This time it was Jake Guentzel to the penalty box for slashing. Once again, Lightning killed off the penalty with ease keeping the score 1-0. Lightning would generate more of the chances as the period went on, but nobody could find the back of the net. Next, Nick Perbix and Connor McMichael are sent off for rouging leading to 4-on-4 hockey.
Holding the tight lead
No damage was done on the 4-on-4 but both teams exchanged quality chances after it was back to even strength. Other than the two changes after the penalties were up, there was not much to speak of in terms of offense. Lightning had their best opportunity later in the period, but it was saved by Thompson. Lightning could not get their tired skaters off the ice and that nearly led to a goal by Washington. Shockingly, there were no penalties being called as that has taken much of the action this afternoon. Period ended with the score remaining unchanged.
Getting the insurance from a rookie
First whistle of the third period would not occur until two and a half minutes went by. Flow of the game was constant with both teams vying for a goal. Washington nearly scored again off a breakaway, but Vasilevskiy was able to make the save. In this point of the game Lightning had to play more carefully to preserve the lead and keep a lethal Capitals offense from tying the game. Instead, Lightning would extend the lead thanks to Gage Goncalves. The rookie scored his second career goal to give Tampa Bay the all-important insurance goal. With a new month beginning, a march to another win was on the horizon.
What a shot, Gage 👏 pic.twitter.com/qT84c65cDl
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 1, 2025
New month, more wins
Immediately after, Washington had their best chance to score but again were stopped by Vasy. Half the period remained with the score 2-0 Tampa Bay. A failed poke check attempt gave John Carlson a chance to get Washington on the board but that was also saved by Vasilevskiy. As the period was winding down, Lightning continued to play sharp and prevent many chances from the Capitals. On a fumble Ovechkin scored his 31st of the season to make it 2-1 Lightning. Capitals pulled the goalie with just under two minutes to go hoping to tie the game. Brandon Hagel the scored his 30th goal on the empty net to extend both the lead and his goal streak. Washington would get a power play with 20 seconds left but it would be a non-factor.
Just wanted you to see this ☺️ https://t.co/kB0HqeBxtN pic.twitter.com/Qd6jiZ3Gy3
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 1, 2025
Next on deck
That was the third and final matchup between the two teams in the regular season. New month begins with the Lightning extending the win streak to eight games after defeating the Capitals 3-1 on the road. Next up is another match up in the in-state rivalry with the Panthers. Lightning will look to keep the win streak going with the final of two games of the road before heading back home for a few games.
Three stars of the game
1st star: Andrei Vasilevskiy – Saved 20 of 21 shots faced
2nd star: Gage Goncalves – 1 goal
3rd star: Alex Ovechkin – 1 goal
