WASHINGTON — Victor Hedman scored the winning goal in a shootout and the Lightning defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 on Saturday night.
The Lightning have now won three straight and are gaining momentum in the Atlantic Division race.
“(Saturday) was obviously a big win for us,” Lightning center Anthony Cirelli said. “We haven’t had very good results on the road this year, so the focus was on coming out strong and playing the full 60 minutes.”
Washington’s winning streak ended at three, but the Capitals earned one point in four consecutive games.
“I like where we are. … We’ve shown some things, the elements of a winning team,” Washington coach Spencer Carberry said.
Tampa Bay got off to a quick start after a mistake behind the Capitals’ net, with Luke Glendening deflecting Hedman’s point shot past Charlie Lindgren to make it 1-0 at 7:29 of the first period.
With the assist, Hedman extended his point streak to four games, before sealing the victory with a shootout goal.
“I felt confident,” Hedman said. “I haven’t been there in a while, so the timing was right, so I’m happy to be able to contribute.”
The Capitals tied the game in similar fashion as the second period began, with Nick Jensen’s long-range shot missing Anthony Mantha and past Andrei Vasilevskiy. This was Mantha’s 10th goal of the season and his fifth in eight games. He also has points in seven of his last nine games. Last season, it took Mantha 59 games to reach double-digit goals.
“We went into this year with the mindset of jumping on the train and going back, but last year was a tough year,” he said. “I’m focused and determined to step up this year and that’s what’s happening right now.”
Washington appeared to score another point a few minutes later courtesy of Jensen, but the score was reversed due to a coach’s appeal of offsides. Saturday was the fourth consecutive game in which Washington required overtime.
Vasilevskiy stopped 33 of 34 shots in regulation and went 2 of 3 in the penalty shootout (one shot missed the net), helping Tampa escape with two points.
“He was really good again (Saturday). … You have to support your goalie, and when we collapsed there, Bass, he stood tall for us.” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “Obviously we’re going to need him for the rest of the year, but it’s nice to see him getting a bit of a rhythm back now.”
Lindgren made 19 saves in the loss.
Sammy Silver Associated Press
• • •
Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter for daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Never miss an update on your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Instagram. X And Facebook.