Washington, District of Columbia, USA; December 23, 2023; In the second period at Capital One Arena, Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (71) skates with the puck behind Washington Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren (79), as Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk (57) defends. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports is required to provide credit.
The Tampa Bay Lightning won on the road.
The Tampa Bay Lightning won an overtime game on the road.
The Tampa Bay Lightning won a road game that went to overtime, despite only scoring one goal (the winner came in a shootout).
The Tampa Bay Lightning won a road game that went to overtime, despite only scoring one goal (the victory came in a shootout), and that goal did not feature Nikita Kucherov.
The Lightning defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 in a shootout after Luke Glendening scored in the first period and Brayden Point and Victor Hedman scored in the second. The Lightning enter the break on a three-game winning streak, snapping a two-game road losing streak. While neither goaltender had to make many spectacular saves, Andrei Vasilevskiy (32 saves) and Charlie Lindgren (19 saves) both performed admirably.
The Bolts started well, with their forecheck hampering the Capitals’ attempts to break the puck out cleanly, allowing Tampa Bay to continue their cycle. They were able to get 11 shots on Lindgren in the period, which would be their season high. The power play was relatively lukewarm, but on the next shift, Victor Hedman sent a puck toward the net, and Luke Glendening, who did not participate in the morning skate, redirected it home from the top of the slot.
From that moment forward, the Capitals had a much better run of play. They didn’t overwhelm the Lightning with shots, but they did dominate the zone. For the most part, both sides played tight defense and didn’t allow any sustained offensive. The Bolts battled with their shot radar, putting only 9 of their 37 shot attempts on net over the final two periods and overtime.
From that moment forward, the Capitals had a much better run of play. They didn’t overwhelm the Lightning with shots, but they did dominate the zone. For the most part, both sides played tight defense and didn’t allow any sustained offensive. The Bolts battled with their shot radar, putting only 9 of their 37 shot attempts on net over the final two periods and overtime.
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The third session unfolded as one would expect for two teams on their way to a holiday break. In either case, there wasn’t much activity, with the two teams combining for a whopping 12 goal chances in the final 20 minutes. Nick Paul nearly won it in regulation when he swooped in on the rush, cut in front of Lindgren, and tried to tuck the puck in with his condor-like reach, but the Caps’ goalie got a toe on it to keep it out.
Except for Anthony Cirelli’s diving backcheck to save a good scoring chance, overtime wasn’t particularly exciting. In the last seconds, Brandon Hagel got the puck on his stick and attempted a wraparound. Lindgren dove across the crease, slamming his hand against the post. As the game progressed (and the horn blew), he had his glove off and was clearly in pain.
