Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: 3 takeaways from Game 1

The Washington Capitals’ magical postseason run has continued with a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Here are three takeaways from the win. 

The Eastern Conference Final is officially underway. Despite not having top center Nicklas Backstrom, the Washington Capitals managed to steal a game from the Tampa Bay Lightning. They opened the game with four unanswered goals to win 4-2 in a game where the game wasn’t as close as the score suggests.

Washington now leads Tampa 1-0 in the series. However, it’s worth noting the Boston Bruins made the Lightning look bad in Game 1 of their second-round series and the Bolts wound up winning the next four games. Let’s take a look at three takeaways from the first game of the Eastern Conference Final.

1. Fast Start

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The Capitals got off to a 2-0 lead in the first period. By the end of 40 minutes, the Caps were up 4-0. Washington capitalized on two of their four power-plays. In the first period, the Caps outshot the Lightning 9-2. The second period saw them outshoot Tampa Bay 16-8.

Washington did a great job dictating pace through the first 40 minutes. Even in the third period, the Caps did a good job, only getting outshot 11-7 despite having a four-goal lead. Only two garbage time goals by Tampa kept the game from getting completely out of hand.

The Capitals were able to win despite not having Backstrom in the lineup. Washington has to be pleased with how Game 1 went. But of course, they must keep up their stellar play. Because, as we saw in the last series, the Lightning likely aren’t going to play this terribly again.

2. Eller-mania

Without Backstrom, the Capitals turned to third-line center Lars Eller to fill in. He did a great job in  Game 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, being asked to take on the Evgeni Malkin line. In Game 1 against the Lightning, the Capitals asked Eller to take on their top line, featuring Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and J.T. Miller.

The second line was up to the task, dominating Tampa in shot attempts. At even-strength, Eller was on the ice for 18 shot attempts for and 13 against, giving him a 58.06 percent CorsiFor percentage. Right wing T.J. Oshie had a 61.76 percent even-strength CorsiFor percentage. If Eller can continue to win his battles, the Capitals might be able to pull off the upset even without Backstrom.

3. Puck Luck

Want further proof this might just be the Capitals year? Just look at their second goal. The Lightning scored a goal, but it was later ruled that Tampa had too many men on the ice. In years past, the Capitals wouldn’t have been able to take advantage. But this year, they did. Alex Ovechkin struck on the power-play with seconds left in the first period.

Next: 3 Reasons The Capitals Can Upset The Lightning

Need more proof? The Caps are finally getting bounces to go their way. Two of the Caps four goals came despite whiffing on an earlier shot. The Capitals were relentless going after the puck and it paid off big time for them. This is the kind of mentality they will need moving forward to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

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