When Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin flipped a puck over Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson with a lilttle more than a minute remaining, Verizon Center erupted.
Ovechkin had tied the game at 2, forcing overtime after 60 minutes of frustration.
But just 6:19 into overtime, Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier silenced the raucous crowd, beating Capitals goaltender Michal Neuvirth on a rush and giving his team a 2-0 series lead heading back to St. Pete Times Forum.
“It’s a tough loss, but give them credit,” Capitals winger Brooks Laich said. “They capitalized on their opportunities and on our mistakes. Down 2-0, but we’ve been in this position before and we’ve come back…we’re going to regroup and come back on Tuesday.”
Even though they dominated in shots on goal all game, the Caps had a very difficult time beating Roloson. Their power play also fizzled, going 0 for 5 and failing to generate many prime scoring chances.
“I thought we stuck with it,” Capitals winger Mike Knuble said. “Guys weren’t complaining on the bench or anything. We know we have the guys who can do it and it’s a question of executing it. Guys want to score. There’s frustration that they’re not scoring. We expect a lot out of power play.”
But it wasn’t just the Caps’ ineptitude with the extra man that caused problems. The Tampa Bay penalty kill has been remarkably stringent all postseason, and it starts with the goaltending.
“The most important penalty killer is your goaltender, so that’s part of it,” Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. “We also got lucky – that’s another part of it … Goaltender and luck had a lot to do with it today.”
But after Sunday’s game, players were optimistic, drawing upon their experience in 2009: that year, the Caps were down 2-0 to the New York Rangers and came back to win the series in seven games. Brooks Laich also referenced the Bruins’ comeback just last round against Montreal. And even though his tying goal wasn’t enough, the Capitals’ captain still believes in his team.
“Well, the series is not over,” Ovechkin said. “We’re going to go there and going to have to win two games and it’s going to be hard. We have to win.”
