Capitals 5, Lightning 3
WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of power-play goals and added two assists, and Marcus Johansson's power-play tally put Washington ahead with 5:44 left as the Capitals rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Friday night.
Washington right winger T.J. Oshie, who ended the night with an empty-netter, also had an unassisted goal, which pulled Washington to within 3-2 early in the third before Ovechkin tied it with 9:58 left. Oshie added two assists.
Washington goaltender Philipp Grubauer, who replaced starter Braden Holtby after Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos made it 3-0 at 9:04 of the second period, stopped all seven shots he faced.
The Capitals have won four straight and 11 of 13. They are 20-2-2 in last 24 home games against Lightning.
Stamkos ended a 10-game goal drought for the Lightning, who also got goals from center Alex Killorn and defenseman Andrej Sustr.
Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, who fell to 1-6-1 lifetime against the Capitals, stopped 18 shots.
Washington pulled to within one when Oshie skated down the left side and beat Bishop on the short side. Minutes later Ovechkin got the puck at the top of the zone, deked a defender and wristed a shot by Bishop to tie it.
Johansson's go-ahead goal came when he finished off a passing sequence that started with Ovechkin and Oshie.
Tampa Bay put only four shots on goal during the first period, but its first one went in thanks to a great individual effort by Killorn at 8:18 of the period.
While coming down the slot, Killorn took a pass from center Jonathan Marchessault. Killorn eluded a Washington defender, skated around Holtby -- who was high in his crease -- and managed to tuck the puck in the net for his fifth of the season.
The Lightning made it 2-0 at 6:54 of the second when Sustr beat Holtby with a wrist shot on a rush for his first goal of the season.
Less than three minutes later, Stamkos carried into the Capitals zone on a 3-on-2, kept the puck and fired past Holtby to make it 3-0, ending the Washington goalie's night after making just nine saves.
The Capitals got on the board with 6:11 left in the second period. Oshie beat Bishop to the rebound of an Ovechkin shot, and passed behind him back to Ovechkin, who fired into the vacated net.
NOTES: Washington and Tampa Bay met for the third time in three weeks. The Capitals won the first two games. ... Capitals RW Tom Wilson was in the lineup. His match penalty for a hit on Ottawa F Curtis Lazar on Wednesday night was rescinded Friday by the NHL. ... Tampa Bay remains without C Tyler Johnson (upper-body injury), LW Jonathan Drouin (lower body), LW Ondrej Palat (lower body), C Cedric Paquette (upper body) and RW Erik Condra (lower body). D Matthew Carle was scratched. ... The Lightning open a six-game homestand Sunday against Ottawa. ... RW Stanislav Galiev and D Connor Carrick were scratched for the Capitals. ... Washington placed RW Chris Brown on waivers. If he clears waivers, he'll be assigned to Hershey of the AHL.