The Washington Capitals have now lost three games in a row in the Eastern Conference Finals after falling in Game Five to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. One more loss, they go home. That simple.

The Caps out-shot the Lightning 30 to 22 and out-attempted them at five-on-five 51 to 44.

• The first period was an utter embarrassment. The Lighting at five-on-five out-attempted the Caps 25 to 8, out-shot them 11 to 4, out scoring chanced them 16 to 1, and out high danger chanced them 8 to 1. It’s hard to be that terrible at hockey in the NHL and it’s highlighted even further by the fact that period happened in the Eastern Conference Finals with the series tied 2-2. Complete joke. As you can probably tell, I’m not happy this morning.
• Evgeny Kuznetsov‘s goal was his 11th of the postseason and his 22nd point. He now holds the franchise record for points in a single postseason.
• Alex Ovechkin played 4:36 of the last 4:48. I really hope they get this to at least a Game Seven for him.
• Andrei Vasilevskiy has stopped 100 of last 106 shots he faced in three straight wins. Braden Holtby has definitely not been as good, but he’s also not been bad. Goaltending is never not weird.
• Caps defensemen Matt Niskanen said postgame that all three goals against were his fault. That’s harsh, I only think two of them were completely his fault.
• This game marked the first time that The Caps have lost 3 consecutive regulation games all season. Kill this streak with fire.
• I’ve got nothing else for ya. The Caps and Nationals are murdering my soul at the moment.

Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com, Hockeystats.ca, NaturalStatTrick.com, and Corsica.hockey.

Full RMNB Coverage of Game Five

Headline Photo: Scott Audette