For the third time in their last four games, the Tampa Bay Lightning were outmatched and ultimately beaten. This time, at the hands of the Washington Capitals, the Bolts dropped a 5-3 decision on home ice at Amalie Arena. Gone is the small cushion atop the Atlantic Division; this Lightning team is in a race.
The Lightning’s uninspired start on Tuesday night cost them dearly. On 40 seconds into the hockey game, Alex Ovechkin scored his 13th goal of the year to put the Capitals up 1-0. With Anton Stralman being pinned in the corner and unable to recover in time, Ovechkin found the puck in the slot and slid it through a screen and Ben Bishop.
Thoroughly outplayed through the bulk of that first period, Tampa did get a little bit lucky at 13:49 when they tied the game. Brian Boyle tipped home a Victor Hedman point shot for his sixth goal of the year to knot things at one.
Any spark or fire generated by that Boyle goal was quickly snuffed out, as Matt Niskanen scored a power play goal less than one minute later to put Washington back on top. That one, courtesy of a guy the Lightning targeted in free agency, stung.
Looking to give his team a boost, Steven Stamkos scored the 250th goal of his career just 47 seconds into the second period to tie the game at two. Assisted by Ryan Callahan and Hedman, Stamkos took the puck in the slot and wired his 17th of the year past Braden Holtby.
With that goal, Stamkos established himself as the tenth youngest player in National Hockey League history to reach the 250-goal plateau. It’s an impressive accomplishment. Was that goal the jolt the team needed to wake up? Arguably. As the following possession chart shows, the Lightning evened things out in that middle frame.
Last night's TB/WSH 5v5 Corsi chart courtesy of @HockeyStatsCa. pic.twitter.com/VORUFlQpPO
— Michael Stuart (@hockeybuzzstu) December 10, 2014As one of the highest scoring teams in hockey, the Lightning shouldn’t be too scared of being down by one with 20 minutes left on the clock. The reality is that they had plenty of time to score one to tie things up, and score another to secure a victory. That didn’t happen.
Troy Brouwer’s seventh of the year, scored at 10:52 of the third, was a backbreaker. It put the Capitals up 4-2 and really killed off any threat of a Tampa comeback. The game, for all intents and purposes, was over.
Valtteri Filppula and Alex Ovechkin traded goals three seconds apart (!) late in the game (read: with virtually no time left on the clock) to make it a 5-3 final. The ultimate result was another Tampa loss, and another opportunity to pick up points wasted.
Give full credit to Barry Trotz and his Capitals for playing a very structured game, limiting the Lightning's chances, and scoring more goals than their opponent. If the Capitals play like that on a regular basis, they'll be a team to watch in the spring and beyond.
It’s been interesting to read reactions to this loss on social media over the last few hours. Certain segments of Bolts Nation are acting like the world is ending, like major changes are needed, and like this team isn’t going anywhere. Yes, it’s been a bad week. No, the world isn’t ending. This is a good hockey team. Good hockey teams go through bad stretches. All that matters is making the playoffs and going from there. The team’s next game will take place tomorrow night against the Carolina Hurricanes; the Lightning will have a good opportunity to right the ship and get back on the winning track.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.