Ground is tough to make up in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division these days, but the Tampa Bay Lightning certainly are doing their part.
Riding an Eastern Conference-high seven-game winning streak, the Lightning travel to the nation’s capital Saturday afternoon for their final contest against the Washington Capitals.
Coach Jon Cooper’s team won 3-0 behind goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s 32-save showing in a shutout of Washington on Oct. 26.
A month later in the second encounter in Tampa, the Capitals won 5-4 on Tom Wilson’s game-winning goal. The team overcame a hat trick by the Lightning’s Brayden Point.
Tampa Bay’s winning streak is its longest since February 2020, the month before COVID-19 shuttered sports entirely. In this latest streak, the club has outscored the opposition 31-12.
Brandon Hagel was the offense’s leader again in Thursday’s 3-0 victory over the visiting Calgary Flames.
Nearing the 30-goal mark for the second time in his career (2022-23), the winger recorded his 29th goal into an empty net and had an assist, giving him 67 points — eight off his high mark.
That was enough for Vasilevskiy, who made 27 saves in his fourth shutout this season and 38th career.
Over seven scintillating starts, the 2019 Vezina Trophy recipient is 7-0-0 with a 1.71 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.
The Lightning have locked down leads as well, owning a 27-1-1 record when ahead after two periods.
“On the bench and on the ice, you feel comfortable playing in those situations,” captain Victor Hedman said. “You know you have four other guys around you who think the same way.”
In the Atlantic, Tampa Bay’s winning streak — which began on Feb. 4 in the first of consecutive home triumphs over the Ottawa Senators — allowed it to make up positions early and slide into one of the top three division spots.
However, the first-place Florida Panthers have won two straight and ride at the top with 75 points after 60 matches. Winners of three consecutive, the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs have 74 points heading into Friday’s game against the New York Rangers.
Meanwhile, Washington has experienced something in its past two outings that has been fairly rare this season — losing consecutive games in regulation.
Amazingly saddled with an NHL-low 13 regulation setbacks over their 59 matches, the Capitals now have lost twice in 60 minutes to clubs with postseason aspirations desperately seeking two points, the Flames and the St. Louis Blues.
On home ice against the Blues Thursday, the Metropolitan Division club battled back from a two-goal deficit only to let it rebuild in the next 63 seconds.
“We’re obviously a team now in this league that has a target on its back,” said Capitals left winger Connor McMichael, who scored for the 21st time in the 5-2 loss.
“Teams know that we’re one of the best teams in the league. They want to come into our building and show they can play with us.”
Thursday’s defeat versus St. Louis marked just the third time overall that Washington lost consecutive regulation contests.
In his pursuit of Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky’s 894-goal scoring record, captain Alex Ovechkin has sizzled lately, popping the twine eight times in the past nine games.
Ovechkin, 39, has 30 goals in 43 matches and 883 in his career but was minus-4 against St. Louis.
–Field Level Media
