Capitals get back at Lightning in shootout
Matt Hendricks and Alexander Semin scored shootout goals to give Washington a 6-5 win over Tampa Bay on Monday night in the teams' first meeting since the Lightning swept the Capitals in four games in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs last season.
The Capitals have won their first two games — one in overtime and the second in a shootout.
Tampa Bay, which is playing its first five games on the road, has lost two of three.
Hendricks was the first shooter in the shootout and he beat Dwayne Roloson, and after Nate Thompson and Dominic Moore failed to cover for the Lightning, Semin's shot secured the win.
In the five-minute overtime there were three penalties — two on Washington.
Jason Chimera scored two goals for Washington -- the first for a 4-3 lead — and the second tied the score at 5 with 2:44 to play. He has three goals in the first two games.
Roloson, last season's playoff hero and two days shy of his 42nd birthday, was far less effective this time. After holding the Capitals to 10 goals in four games last spring, Roloson allowed five goals and stopped 38 shots.
The first period was a surprisingly offensive one. In his first game as Capitals' goalie, Tomas Vokoun allowed two goals in the first three shots. Tampa Bay's Teddy Purcell was given credit for the first goal when a shot deflected off defenseman Mike Green's skate. After Marcus Johansson poked a shot out of Roloson's glove behind the net, he wrapped it around the goal to tie the score.
Bruno Gervais' first goal in 57 games — since March 25, 2010 — gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead 8:35 into the game. The Lightning were held to just one shot in the remaining 11:25 of the period.
Dennis Wideman's shot past a screened Roloson with 3:20 to play in the first period tied the score at 2-2.
While the first period was frenetic, the second was more defensive.
Moore gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead 56 seconds into the second period on a slap shot past Voukon. Troy Brouwer scored his first goal for Washington at 3:42 of the second to tie it 3-3.
Chimera scored his second goal in two games when he rebounded a shot from Brooks Laich past a sprawling Roloson for the 4-3 lead. At 7:42 of the third, Thompson scored for the Lightning to tie it 4-4.
Brett Clark scored at 13:56 of the third period for a 5-4 Tampa Bay lead.
Chimera tied it on an unassisted goal at 17:16.