WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitchell Chaffee and Gage Goncalves scored, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced behind a remarkable tight-checking team effort and the Tampa Bay Lightning won their eighth consecutive game by beating the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals 3-1 on Saturday.
The Capitals lost their third game in a row for the first time all season despite Alex Ovechkin scoring his 884th career goal to move 10 back of tying Wayne Gretzky's NHL record. Before Ovechkin's goal with 3:59 left, they struggled to generate quality scoring chances against one of the hottest teams in the league and couldn't provide enough support for goaltender Logan Thompson, who made 16 saves.
At the other end of the ice, Vasilevskiy was good when the Lightning needed him to come up with a stop. The 2019 Vezina Trophy winner and 2021 playoff MVP blockered away a shot early and got his right pad on an attempt by Washington defenseman Matt Roy late in the second period.
Brandon Hagel sealed it with an empty-netter with a minute left.
Takeaways
Lightning: Coach Jon Cooper's team has found a way to win that can be replicated in the playoffs, especially if Vasilevskiy is on his game. The Lightning last lost on Feb. 1.
Capitals: The comfortable cushion they had atop the East and the Metropolitan Division remains, but it has gotten smaller while on this skid during their longest homestand of the season.
Key moment
With the Capitals pressing, Goncalves beat Thompson with a shot through traffic to give Tampa Bay a two-goal lead with 13:52 left. It turned out to be the game-winner.
Key stat
With an assist on Chaffee's power-play goal, Nikita Kucherov extended his point streak to 10 games.
Up next
The Lightning visit Florida on Monday, the same night the Capitals host Ottawa.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press