Tampa Bay kicked off their home schedule with a clutch 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night, bouncing back hard after their opener. Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Conor Geekie wasted no time, both finding the back of the net in the first period to set the tone.
Early Barrage Stuns Capitals
Man, did the Lightning come out flying! Charle-Edouard D’Astous absolutely ripped one past Charlie Lindgren just 2:26 into the first period. The guy cut in from the point, took a sweet pass from Brandon Hagel, and BOOM, 1-0. And if that wasn’t enough, Conor Geekie piled on with another one before the period was even over, snapping a quick shot to the inside of the post with 3:30 left, again off a pass from Hagel. Brandon Hagel, by the way, was a beast with two assists on those early scores. Andrei Vasilevskiy held down the fort, making 19 saves, even though Charlie Lindgren was busy at the other end, racking up 27 saves for Washington.
Capitals Fight Back, Guentzel Seals It
The Capitals weren’t just going to roll over, though. Justin Sourdif got them on the board in the second period, redirecting a point shot from Jacob Chychurn to cut that deficit in half. But the Lightning defense, with Vasy in net, held strong, especially after Washington had to play the entire third period without defenseman Matt Roy, who suffered a lower-body injury and couldn’t come back. Then, with 2:05 left in the third, Jake Guentzel slammed the door shut with an empty-netter, even picking up an assist earlier. Talk about a full circle moment too, John Carlson, who spent 17 seasons with the Caps, played his first game against them and even snagged an assist on that final goal. Remember, the Lightning needed this bounce back after a tough 5-1 loss to the Rangers on Thursday, while the Caps were coming in hot off a win in Carolina.
The Capitals will look to shake this off when they host Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the Lightning keep the home stand going, facing Philadelphia on Monday night. It’s early, but these guys are showing they can make some noise!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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