Capitals rally falls short against Lightning in Game 5: 3 takeaways
Takeaways from the Washington Capitals coming up short in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning did the impossible in Game 5 against the Washington Capitals. They won at home. A 3-2 victory gave the Lightning a 3-2 series lead and a chance to close things out in Game 6.
The Lightning struck early and often on Saturday night. Cedric Paquette and Ryan Callahan immediately pressured Washington in the neutral zone, leading to a turnover and a quick shot in the slot by Paquette. The puck eluded Brad Holtby, giving Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead just 19 seconds into the game.
Ondrej Palat made it 2-0 nine minutes into the period, using Matt Niskanen as a screen to rifle the puck past Holtby. After getting dominated in terms of time on attack and shots in three of the first four games, Tampa Bay controlled the entire first period, outshooting Washington 13-4 in the first period.
The Lightning didn’t let up in the second. Just 33 seconds into the period, Holtby made a sprawling save on Chris Kunitz, but Callahan knifed through three Washington defenders and knocked the puck out of midair and into the net.
The Capitals got on the board moments later on a deflection by Evgeny Kuznetsov. Alex Ovechkin made it 3-2 with a minute and a half left in the game, but the Capitals final push came up short.
3 Takeaways
1. Fourth line steps up
Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper wanted to be better 5-on-5 in Game 5. Despite the series being 2-2, the Lightning have been outplayed at even strength in this series. They’ve relied heavily on their power play to carry them offensively, but that’s living dangerously in the playoffs, where power play opportunities are fewer and farther between.
Enter their fourth line.
Cedric Paquette, Ryan Callahan, and Chris Kunitz set the tone immediately for the home team. They pressured the Capitals in the neutral zone, forcing turnovers and turning defense into offense. They out-skated the Capitals at every turn and, much like they did in Game 3, worked harder than Washington.
Steven Stamkos has been a beast on the power play for his club. He was silent in Game 5. It didn’t matter because the fourth was able to get it done.
2. Invisible Ovechkin
Ovechkin and his linemates could not be stopped in the first two games. He, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Tom Wilson accounted for 11 points in the first two games. They’ve had five points in the last three goals. Three of those points are courtesy of Kuznetsov, who was moved off the top line in the middle of Game 5 and replaced with Nicklas Backstrom.
Ovechkin has one goal in the last three games.
Simply put, he has to be better if Washington hopes to win Game 6 and force Game 7. He not only looks dead tired on the ice, he seemed frustrated throughout Game 5. It’s unfair to put these last three games all on him. Backstrom’s return has amounted to nothing and the Washington defense has not been as sharp as they were in the first two game. But Ovechkin is the leader and when a team loses three straight, much of that falls on his shoulders.
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3. Andrei Vasilevskiy shines again
The Lightning finally got things going 5-on-5, but once they took a 3-0 lead, it was all Washington. The Capitals outshot the Lightning 26-7 once the puck was dropped following Callahan’s goal. Tampa Bay sat back and the Washington showed why they’ve been the better team for the majority of this series.
It didn’t matter.
Vasilevskiy stopped 24 of the 26 shots and continued to be an uncrackable puzzle for the road team. Only a perfect deflection by Kuznetsov and an Ovechkin rocket with an extra attacker were able to get by the Lightning netminder. His save on Kuznetsov in the dying seconds kept the game from going to overtime.
He’s answered all questions after poor performances in the first two games and he may be in the heads of the Caps players right now.