The opening minutes of the second period looked much different for the Tampa Bay Lightning than the first period did. Players were shooting at almost every opportunity they had (almost) and they limited the amount of passes they were making. Still, there were missed opportunities.
The entire team did look re-energized and played with more intensity than they did in the first period. The best chance the Lightning had to score in the middle stanza came when Victor Hedman’s slap shot was denied by Brayden Holtby. Holtby made the save on the shot and then St. Louis tried to put one past Holtby to no avail.
The Washington goaltender has stood tall throughout the game and has been in position for most offensive situations. There is no sign of the goaltender being tired although he has started three consecutive games.
At 5:09 of the second period, Capitals right winger Eric Fehr beat Mathieu Garon to break the 1-1 tie. On Fehr’s goal, there were multiple breakdowns by the Lightning. After a skate save by Holtby, the Capitals easily got the puck through the neutral zone and had two players left alone in front of the net. Matt Carle clearly got beat to the puck, ending up in Fehr’s tally.
The line of Tom Pyatt, Richard Panik, and Alex Killorn has been seeing the puck well tonight. The three seem to gel well together.
The Lightning had 12 shots in the second period with a game total of 18. The Capitals had 13 for a two period total of 25.
