Killorn's Hat Trick Leads Lightning To 6-3 Victory Over The Caps

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Alex Killorn scored his first career hat trick and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves as the Lightning defeated the Capitals 6-3 on Saturday night at Amalie Arena.

Tyler Johnson, Erik Cernak and Yanni Gourde also lit the lamp for the Bolts.

It was a very physical game from the start, but it was the Lightning who were able to cash in first and take the lead.

With Brayden Point racing down the right wing, Tyler Johnson went to the net with his stick down looking for a pass or a rebound. Point fired the puck across the ice and Johnson slammed it home past Holtby to give the Bolts a 1-0 lead at the 8:35 mark of the first period.

Just under two minutes later, Tampa Bay was able to double their lead on a fortunate bounce.

Alex Killorn picked up the puck along the boards and threw a seemingly harmless shot on net. Before Holtby could make the stop, the puck caromed off of Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov and past Holtby to make it 2-0.

At the 12:06 mark the Capitals got one back as a John Carlson slapshot found its way behind Vasilevskiy, but the Lightning went right back to work and did not let up.

A perfect example of that was Killorn's second goal of the night, which was just all effort.

The Lightning winger came right down the middle of the ice and was 1-on-1 against Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen. Killorn bullied his way through Jensen to somehow get a shot off against Holtby. The Washington netminder made the save but Killorn pounced on the rebound and fired it home to give the Bolts a 3-1 lead.

The Caps cut into the Lightning lead at the 7:33 mark of the 2nd period on a power play goal from Alexander Ovechkin. Carlson threw a shot on net that deflected off of TJ Oshie in the high slot and the puck deflected right to the Washington captain. Ovechkin fired one quickly past Vasilevskiy to put the score at 3-2.

Cernak added an ever-important insurance goal at 2:45 of the third when he snuck in from the right point and beat Holtby five-hole.

Things got a little testy when Ovechkin scored with just over seven minutes remaining to make it 4-3, but empty net goals from Killorn and Gourde sealed the deal for Tampa Bay.

Holtby made 29 saves on the night.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

  1. Tampa Bay - Johnson - (Point, Kucherov) - 8:35
  2. Tampa Bay - Killorn - (Unassisted) - 10:33
  3. Washington - Carlson - (Kuznetsov) - 12:06
  4. Tampa Bay - Killorn (2) - (Cirelli, Joseph) - 15:56

2nd Period

  1. Washington - Ovechkin - PPG - (Oshie, Carlson) - 7:33

3rd Period

  1. Tampa Bay - Cernak - (Palat, McDonagh) - 2:45
  2. Washington - Ovechkin (2) - (Orlov, Connolly) - 12:56
  3. Tampa Bay - ENG - Killorn (3) - (Kucherov) - 19:13
  4. Tampa Bay - ENG - Gourde - (Erne, Hedman) - 19:58

PENALTY SUMMARY

1st Period

  1. Tampa Bay - Palat - (High Sticking) - 17:13
  2. Washington - Wilson - (Hooking) - 18:41
  3. Washington - Connolly - (Holding) - 18:53

2nd Period

  1. Tampa Bay - Kucherov - (Interference) - 5:59
  2. Washington - Kuznetsov - (Slashing) - 14:42

3rd Period

  1. Washington - Niskanen - (Holding) - 4:10
  2. Tampa Bay - Palat - (Tripping) - 14:22
  3. Washington - Wilson - (10-Minute Misconduct) - 19:46
  4. Tampa Bay - Cernak - (10-Minute Misconduct) - 19:46

What's Next For The Bolts : The Lightning are back in action Monday night as they welcome the Arizona Coyotes to Amalie Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:30pm with the pregame show starting at 6:30pm on NewsRadio WFLA.


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