Washington Capitals on verge of elimination after Game 3 loss to Tampa Bay Lightning – NHL playoffs
Washington Capitals cannot believe that this is actually happening to them. The Eastern Conference first seed Washington were thrown near the edge of being eliminated as Tampa Bay Lightning struck down hard on them once again for three consecutive times.
The Lightning have now won six games in a row, carrying over their winning streak from the quarter-finals against Pittsburgh Penguins. Game three could not have been any better for Tampa Bay as they now lead the series 3-0 after a 4-3 win against the Capitals
at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida on Tuesday.
The electrical surge that has been running through Tampa Bay is one of the biggest in the National Hockey League playoffs history. Taking down the fourth seed in the quarter-finals after bouncing back in game five to win three consecutive matches, they are
on the verge of repeating their 2004 Stanley Cup winning postseason.
Washington had a great overall regular season and no one could have ever thought of them being this far below the fifth place Lightning who had not sparked into the playoff race until the final few weeks of pre-playoff games. Steven Stamkos, the NHL leader
in goals scored has picked up the pace and has showed off his skills when his team needs him the most. Even though they still have four games to eliminate Washington, Stamkos is nowhere close to taking it easy.
“We can't let up,” Stamkos said. “You see in the Vancouver series (against Chicago) what happens when you do. Games 4 and 5 were blowouts for Chicago and they got the momentum right back in the series and they went to 7. We can't make that mistake.”
Sean Bergenheim scored the inaugural goal of the matchup to put the Lightning up on the boards. Mike Knuble tied the match within one minute of the second period while John Carlson made the tie-breaker in the next seven minutes. Vincent Lecavalier, once
again levelled the game with his fifth of the playoffs but the Capitals ended the period on a high note when their captain Alex Ovechkin scored on a 5-on-3 advantage due to Brett Clark and Adam Hall’s successive penalties.
Even though Washington were ahead 3-2 entering the final period, something sparked in the Lightning which set them off. They outshot Washington 15-5 in the third period alone and scored two goals 24 seconds apart by Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone bedazzling
the Capitals. The home crowd roared with satisfaction as the stadium filled with fulfilment and joy.
The Eastern Conference leaders were unable to recover from that sudden surge of energy and lost game three in an undefined manner.
The Capitals must now attempt at becoming the fourth team in the NHL history to recover from a 3-0 deficit to take the series and advance into the Eastern Conference finals. Chicago, an eighth placed team which barely made it into the elite eight of the
Western Conference, put the Canucks in a game seven deciding situation after being down 3-0 but lost. It seems nearly impossible at the rate Tampa Bay is playing at, but still, anything can happen.
The Lightning have a chance to annihilate the Capitals once and for all when they meet them in game four again in Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
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