Home / Game Recap / Overtime sadness: Lightning beat Capitals 2-1

Overtime sadness: Lightning beat Capitals 2-1

By Chris Cerullo

 6 Comments

October 16, 2021 9:53 pm

The Capitals welcomed the defending Stanley Cup Champs into their barn on Saturday night.

Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring, beating Andrei Vasilevskiy with a disguised wrister from the slot. Mikhail Sergachev finally broke through Vitek Vanecek’s armor to tie things up in the third.

Steven Stamkos in overtime.

Lightning beat Capitals 2-1.

  • The Caps started fast but I thought they closed pretty lucky to not be down one or two goals in the first frame. The Lightning are ridiculously effective at creating odd-man rushes out of nowhere and they were a couple of spells of overpassing away from punishing the Capitals.
  • The ice at Capital One Arena in this game was close to the worse I’ve ever seen it. Alan May highlighted how that was favoring the Lightning early and that is something that you probably would not like on your home ice. Felt more like a Wizards or Mystics game at some points with how many pucks were taking weird angle bounces. Hopefully, that’s just some early season kinks that will be worked out as we get deeper into the fall and then winter weather.
  • The fact that that disallowed goal in the first period needed a coach’s challenge is sure something. That puck went a full Zdeno Chara length over the boards and out…and then sat there for two beats before dropping to the ice.

  • The Caps were not good for about 18 minutes of the second. Not a great total first two periods at all. The Lightning had 11 high danger chances to the Caps one through forty minutes. Tampa is very good…again. I hope they suck for eternity after this recent run.
  • But of course that dude that wears number eight can solve a lot of bad with just one shot. Alex Ovechkin fooled Andrei Vasilevskiy with a wrister to give the Caps the first lead of the game. Number 733 for Ovi and Brett Hull is now only eight away.
  • I didn’t think the puck was in moments later for Ovi’s second of the game but the call on the ice was a good goal. Even if I felt that way personally, there was no shot there was enough definitive proof to overturn that call. NHL gonna NHL.
  • Vitek Vanecek was absolutely bonkers in this game. Good lord.

  • Much more even third period. I liked the fight the boys showed.
  • Nikita Kucherov went to the locker room injured in this game so expect the long term injured reserve to win another Conn Smythe.
  • Big congrats to Lars Eller on NHL game number 800. What a fantastic trade it was bringing that dude to DC.

Next up for the Caps is the Colorado Avalanche who are a team many would probably call the Lightning of the Western Conference. Another high-powered offense to try and fend off.

Headline photo with permission from @capsfansince83

, ,