Defenseman Jakob Chychrun scored 1:19 into overtime to fuel the host Washington Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.
Tom Wilson wired a sharp cross-slot feed that caromed off the heel of the stick of Chychrun at the right doorstep to end the game.
Wilson scored his team’s first power-play goal of the season and added two assists.
Aliaksei Protas also tallied, Dylan Strome notched two assists and Logan Thompson made 17 saves to propel the Capitals to their third straight victory.
Tampa Bay’s Jake Guentzel scored a goal in the first period and Brayden Point added a power-play goal in the third. Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 25 shots for the Lightning.
Tampa Bay opened the scoring at 7:06 of the first period.
Anthony Cirelli won an offensive-zone faceoff in the left circle and defenseman Ryan McDonagh wired a diagonal feed to Guentzel, who one-timed the puck past Thompson. The goal was Guentzel’s first of the season after he recorded a career-high 41 in 2024-25.
Washington attempted to respond late in the period, but Vasilevsky made a glove save on a partial breakaway by Justin Sourdif.
Both teams found the iron early in the second period. Capitals forward Ryan Leonard hit the post with a shot from the right circle, while Brandon Hagel jumped off the Lightning bench and unleashed a shot that hit the iron at the other end.
Connor McMichael’s alert feed from behind the net caught Vasilevskiy looking the wrong way, allowing Protas to shoot into an open net to boost his team-leading totals in goals (three) and points (five).
Tampa Bay took advantage of its power play after Washington superstar captain Alex Ovechkin was whistled for a slashing penalty. Defenseman Victor Hedman’s shot-pass from the high slot was deflected home by Point for his second goal of the season.
Wilson’s deflection of Strome’s shot over 2 1/2 minutes later leveled the contest at 2-2.
–Field Level Media
