Tampa Bay Lightning beat Washington Capitals, 4-2 – NHL Play-offs Recap
The National Hockey League semi-finals kicked-off with the Washington Capitals playing host to the Tampa Bay Lighting at the Verizon Center, on Friday, April 29, 2011. The game witnessed the Lightning coming up with a commendable performance that saw them
winning 4-2 in the end.
The Capitals were aggressive in their approach with shots on goal right from the start, but it was the Lightning who scored the opening goal to get into the lead. The Capitals managed to score a goal as well and level proceedings. The home team made quite
a few more shots on goal but they were unable to score, as the period ended on level terms.
The second period saw the Lightning catching up pace, as they scored twice with the Capitals also scoring once, to put themselves into the lead. The final 20 minutes of play saw the Lightning scoring the lone goal of the period, to win the game 4-2. Lightning
centre, Steven Stamkos was named the ‘Star of the Game’, as he scored the winning goal of the match.
As the game began, the Lightning came up with a couple of shots in response to the strong start made by Capitals. They were able to score in the third minute through Sean Bergenheim, from a wrist shot to get into the lead. The Capitals did not take long
and successfully scored through Alexander Semin, from another well placed flick shot to level the scores.
The period witnessed the Capitals piling up several more shots after some splendid pieces of play, but the team was unable to score any goals. The period ended with the scores level on 1-1, with the Capitals making 14 shots on goal while the Lightning tried
to score on nine occasions.
Both teams made a decent start to the second period as they continued to create chances and fire shots on goal. The Capitals scored in the second minute through Eric Fehr, to take the lead.
The Lightning made sure that they would not go down without a fight that resulted in their team catching pace. Resultantly, they scored in the 17th minute through Steve Downie to bring the game back on level terms.
The turning point of the game proved to be Steven Stamkos’s power-play goal in the final minute, as his strike gave the Lightning the important lead. The period ended with the Lightning leading 3-2, as they made 11 shots on goal while the Capitals attempted
to score nine times.
The defence of both teams were on top in the final 20 minutes of play, but they were unsuccessful in the finding the back of the net. The defence totally dominated the proceedings in the crucial minutes of play, cutting down attacks every now and then.
The Lightning sealed the game with a goal in the final minute scored by Dominic Moore, from a well placed flick shot. In the end, it was the Lightning who won 4-2, to lead the semi-final series 1-0.
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