Lightning vs. Capitals Game 6: Full highlights, final score and more

Fueled by T.J. Oshie’s two goals, the Washington Capitals force a Game 7 with a 3-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It felt like the Washington Capitals were on the verge of changing the narrative of their playoff history. The Capitals were never short on talent, but could never get over the playoff hump. After dispatching the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Capitals looked to knock off the Tampa Bay Lightning to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history.

Washington took the first two games in Tampa Bay. In typical Capitals fashion, they lost three straight games to the Lightning. If Washington wants to advance, they would have to protect home ice and win Game 6 to force a decisive Game 7.

The Washington Capitals clearly knew their backs were against the wall. They came out of the gate with ton of energy. Tom Wilson got the sea of red engaged with a bone-crushing hit on Cedric Paquette. This lead to some quality chances for Washington, that included an Alexander Ovechkin wrister from the slot. Unfortunately for the Capitals, Andrei Vasilevskiy had the early answers.

Tampa Bay was able to weather the Capitals’ early surge. Brayden Point was headed for a breakaway on Braden Holtby, but the whistle was blown. Behind the play, Brooks Orpik and J.T. Miller decided to drop the gloves. The two players headed to the locker room with 5 minute majors, but the Capitals benefitted from the stoppage of play. Point could only look to the heavens, as the period ended with no score.

The ice began to open up during the middle frame. After an uneventful Lightning man advantage, the two teams exchanged big time chances. Andre Burakovsky, who was inserted into the Capitals’ lineup for Game 6 used his speed to dart down the right wing, but couldn’t solve Vasilevskiy. A few minutes later, Anthony Cirelli found himself alone in front with Holtby, but was unable to record a shot on goal.

The Washington Capitals thought they had scored on the power play with a blast from the point from John Carlson. The puck was ripped off the post behind Vasilevskiy. Everyone in Capital One Arena thought the home team scored the first goal of the game because the goal siren immediately began to deafen the people in attendance. The only issue was that the puck never crossed the goal line.

Washington realized it still had some time on the power play. They settled their nerves and entered the Tampa Bay zone. Nicklas Backstrom played catch with Evgeny Kuznetsov. Backstrom realized T.J. Oshie had some room for a quick shot from the slot. Oshie took the pass and ripped it past the Lightning goaltender to give the Caps a 1-0 lead.

Tampa Bay wasn’t out of the second period woods yet. The Capitals continued to tilt the ice towards Vasilevskiy. From the corner, Backstrom located Jakub Vrana, who shot the puck towards the net. Vasilevskiy was able to keep the puck out of the net, but had no clue where it was. An extremely alert, Brayden Point rushed towards the puck and pushed it into a vacant corner, which kept Washington from scoring their second goal of the game.

The Capitals entered the final frame looking for some insurance. The well-traveled, Devante Smith-Pelly flicked the puck down into Tampa’s zone. The icing was waved off because of the hustle of Chandler Stephenson. He was able to beat Coburn to the puck to avoid the stoppage. The puck ended up on Jay Beagle’s stick. He sent it back down behind the goal line to Stephenson, who backhanded into the slot for a charging Smith-Pelly. Devante Smith-Pelly took the pass and ripped it past Vasilevskiy to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead.

With his team down two goals, Lightning head coach, Jon Cooper decided to call Vasilevskiy to the bench for an extra attacker with1:57 remaining in the third period. The yawning net was calling T.J. Oshie’s name. Nicklas Backstrom found his buddy for the second time in the game. Oshie shot the puck into the empty net to give Washington a 3-0 win in Game 6.

Three Stars

1. T.J. Oshie: The Capitals’ forward netted the game winning goal in the second period. He also closed the door on Tampa Bay’s comeback with an empty net goal in the final minute of regulation.

2. Braden Holtby: What else do you want? It was win or go home for the Washington Capitals. Braden Holtby faced 24 Lightning shots and saved them all. His fifth career playoff shutout is the main reason why there will be a Game 7.

3. Andrei Vasilevskiy: The Tampa Bay goaltender kept his team in the game. With the Capitals on the verge of elimination, they threw everything but the kitchen sink at Vasilevskiy. He turned aside 31 of 33 shots. He gave the Lightning every chance to win the series in Game 6.

Highlights

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Next Game

With a Game 6 victory, the Washington Capitals evened the series at 3-3. The Tampa Bay Lightning will host Game 7 on Wednesday night. The winner of Game 7 will take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.