The Tampa Bay Lightning (17-13-4) fell to the first place Washington Capitals (26-5-5) 3-1 on Saturday night in Washington, DC. The Capitals continued a trend of recent success against the Lightning, winning the third matchup in the last two plus weeks.
The Capitals began the scoring in the second period when Radko Gudas scored to give Washington a 1-0 lead. The Bolts tied the game midway through the second period as Nikita Kucherov scored his 200th career goal that made it a 1-1 game. However, the Capitals scored two goals down the stretch run of the third period to clinch the victory - Dmitri Orlov had the game winning goal at the 13:57 mark, while Nic Dowd added insurance with a shorthanded goal at the 17:37 mark.
Curtis McElhinney got the start in net - he saved 32 of 34 shots in taking the loss. Braden Holtby went 26-for-27 in net for Washington to pick up the win, which was the second win in as many nights for the Caps.
The Lightning are off on Sunday and return home on Monday to battle the Panthers - puck drop Monday night is scheduled for 7 PM and can be heard with pregame coverage at 6 PM on News Radio WFLA.