Lightning 4, Capitals 3
Defenseman Jason Garrison scored the go-ahead goal 2:27 into the third period and host Tampa Bay held on for its third straight victory.
Nikita Kucherov recorded a goal and an assist while Ondrej Palat and Ryan Callahan added tallies for the Lightning, who were outshot 25-13 over the final 40 minutes. Tyler Johnson notched a pair of assists and Ben Bishop turned aside 35 shots for his seventh victory in nine decisions.
Marcus Johansson collected a goal and an assist while Tory Brouwer and Eric Fehr also scored for the Capitals. Captain Alex Ovechkin snapped his five-game point drought with an assist and Braden Holtby made 24 saves for Washington, which lost for only the second time in its last seven meetings with the Lightning.
Callahan redirected Brian Boyle’s shot between both his own legs and Holtby’s pads 6:06 into the first period, but Johansson knocked home a loose puck after Ovechkin’s breakaway attempt at 12:59. Fehr popped in his own rebound 2:11 into the second before Palat answered at 9:29 off a nifty pass from Kucherov.
Kucherov deflected defenseman Eric Brewer’s shot past Holtby 2:43 later, but Brouwer’s one-timer from the slot after a pass from Johansson during a power play with 59 seconds left in the second tied it. Captain Steven Stamkos won a faceoff back to Garrison, whose wrist shot through traffic from the top of the right faceoff circle beat Holtby for the winner.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Johnson has collected multiple assists in three of his last five contests and has notched 13 over a nine-game span. … Fehr has scored 11 goals against the Lightning (29 games) in his career – his most versus any team in the league. … Tampa Bay D Andrej Sustr (hand) and Washington C Brooks Laich (upper body) were scratched.