The Washington Capitals have defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Washington Capitals Win Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final

The Washington Capitals came out strong in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. The Capitals kicked off the scoring at the 7:28 mark of the first period when Michal Kempny got his first goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The turning point of the game came with seven seconds left in the first period. The Capitals held the Lightning to 10 shots in the first two periods.

Washington was two for four on the powerplay tonight and seemed to be firing on all cylinders for the first two periods. Tampa came out and stole the momentum from the Capitals in the third period. Early in the third period Steven Stamkos got the Lightning on the board with a power-play goal. Then Ondrej Palat scored at 13:05 mark to cut the deficit to two.

Too Many Men Penalty?

With seven seconds left in the first period, Ryan McDonagh sent a stretch pass to Nikita Kucherov which he caught and was able to score on. However, the goal was called back. The referees got together and found out the Lightning had six players on the ice at the time of the goal. The Lightning were assessed a too many men penalty on the play. Five seconds later Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin scored to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead heading into the second period.

Goaltending Issues for the Lightning

Andrei Vasilevskiy had a rough game giving up four goals on 25 shots in two periods of play. Louis Domingue came in to start the third period for the Lightning. The goaltending change brought life to the Lightning as they picked up two goals in the third. He made seven saves on seven shots.

Expect the Lightning to build off a positive finish in Game 2.

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