Steven Stamkos rocketed home the game-winning goal with 15 seconds left in overtime to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 2-1 victory over the host Washington Capitals on Saturday night.
Already with an assist, Stamkos grabbed possession of a puck in the defensive end late in the extra session, raced in one-on-one against defenseman John Carlson and fired in his third tally for the Lightning’s second consecutive win.
Mikhail Sergachev scored his first goal this season, and Erik Cernak recorded an assist.
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed one goal on 33 shots to go to 2-1-0.
High-scoring right winger Nikita Kucherov skated gingerly to the bench in the middle of the third period and did not play the rest of the game.
Alex Ovechkin scored the 733rd goal of his career, and Trevor van Riemsdyk posted an assist for Washington, which has split its two games (1-0-1).
In his second straight start, Vitek Vanecek stopped 22 of 24 shots.
Lars Eller appeared in the 800th game of his career and 358th with the Capitals.
Eller became the second Danish-born player in NHL history to reach the milestone, with the record of 925 games held by Frans Nielsen.
The meeting was the first between the Eastern Conference powers since a round-robin playoff series game on Aug. 3, 2020, which the Lightning won 3-2 in a shootout.
After nearly 18 minutes of scoreless play, Tampa Bay appeared to grab a 1-0 lead when Alex Killorn sent a shot from the high slot that went way high above Vanecek.
The puck took a strange bounce off the safety netting, and Killorn retrieved it from behind the cage and backhanded it home.
The officials called the goal good on the ice, but the Capitals’ coaching staff challenged the play and the tally was overturned after a review.
During a puck battle in Washington’s offensive end, Ovechkin hopped over the boards, collected a loose puck and sniped his third goal from the high slot at 18:51 of the second period.
He appeared to score again 13 seconds later, but the goal was overturned upon review after it was determined Vasilevskiy gloved it on, not beyond, the goal line.
In the third, Sergachev tied it at 1 when he fired a long shot from the near the blue line that found its way past Vanecek at 4:23.
–Field Level Media