By Katie Brown (@callyourbluff)
Same building, different name. We all remember the last time the Capitals visited the Lightning at home, and we definitely don’t want to talk about it.
Both teams appeared to be shaking off the All-Star Break rust during most of the first period, looking a bit slow at first. The Caps got a power play early on a too many men penalty by the Lightning but were unable to cash in, the usual story.
Matt Hendricks got the scoring started with a snazzy spin-o-rama backhander that made its way past Garon to put the Caps up 1-0 at 16:55 in the first. That was fun for a few seconds until a Teddy Bear Purcell wrister (on a slick pass by Downie, nonetheless) slipped past Vokoun to make it 1-1 just before the end of the first.
Late goals against in a period have been a dagger for the Caps this season. So have early goals against. That pesky little Martin St. Louis scored early in the second to give the Lightning the 2-1 lead. What a buttmunch. NBC sports replay after this goal showed the Lightning guilty of an offsides the referees didn’t pick up. Bad zebras.
Shortly thereafter, fabric softener advertisement Steve Downie was given a double-minor for high-sticking Mathieu Perreault, after which he commited either the most classy or creepy act ever by patting poor Matty on the rear. Sign of the apocalypse? Not until Milbury stops talking. The Caps were unable to convert on on the man-advantage, despite having ample time – four minutes to do so.
Nate Thompson made it 3-1 for the Lightning at 10:59, giving Caps fans flashbacks of that awful playoff series sweep. Things were starting to look ugly in Tampa. But we should know better than to count the Caps out so soon. Call it karma or luck or what-have-you, but an own-goal happened. And it was hilarious, because it happened to the Lightning and not the Capitals. Mathieu Perreault said suck it to Downie for creepily touching him, and slammed a backhander toward the net that was tipped in by some guy who wasn’t doing his job to make it 3-2.
Troy Brouwer got physical and made it 3-3 at 5:53 in the third, but not without a little hustle from Brooks Laich, who didn’t even pick up an assist on the play but made it possible by tying up a Lightning defender to give Brouwer the opportunity to shoot.
Overtime was necessary to decide this game, meaning the Caps would stay ahead of the Florida Panthers by gaining at least a point. Vokoun made arguably his most incredible save of the season just seconds before Steven Stamkos scored his 33rd goal of the year to win it for the Lightning, thanks to a defensive lapse on the part of the Capitals. Lightning win, 4-3. Nerds.
No Ovi, no Backstrom, no Green, one point. Not bad.
Notes: Roman Hamrlik didn’t have his best night, on the ice for 3 goals against. John Carlson didn’t fare so well either, on the ice for all four Lightning goals. Newcomer Joel Rechlicz was all but invisible, logging only 1:49 of ice time in his first game as a Capital. Rechlicz did not fight Steve Downie, or anyone else for that matter, which was kind of a letdown based on his reputation of wrecking people’s faces. Maybe next time. The Caps finally broke the 30-shot barrier, outshooting the Lightning 31-29. Progress.
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