The Tampa Bay Lightning won their eighth consecutive game, defeating the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals 3-1 on Saturday.
Mitchell Chaffee and Gage Goncalves scored for Tampa Bay, while Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of 21 shots behind a tight-checking team effort.
The Capitals have now lost three straight games for the first time this season.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 884th career goal late in the third period, moving him 10 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record. Before Ovechkin’s goal with 3:59 remaining, Washington struggled to generate quality scoring chances against the surging Lightning.
Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson made 16 saves in the losing effort.
Vasilevskiy was solid when tested, using his blocker to turn away an early Washington shot and getting his right pad on an attempt by Capitals defenseman Matt Roy late in the second period.
Nikita Kucherov extended his point streak to 10 games with an assist on Chaffee’s power-play goal.
With Washington pressing in the third period, Goncalves beat Thompson with a shot through traffic to give Tampa Bay a two-goal lead with 13:52 left. The goal proved to be the game-winner.
Brandon Hagel sealed the victory with an empty-netter with a minute remaining.
The Lightning, coached by Jon Cooper, have developed a winning formula that could translate well to playoff hockey, especially with Vasilevskiy performing at a high level. Tampa Bay hasn’t lost since February 1.
While the Capitals still maintain their lead atop the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division, their cushion has shrunk during this three-game skid, which has come during their longest homestand of the season.
The Lightning visit the Florida Panthers on Monday, while the Capitals host the Ottawa Senators that same night.
