WASHINGTON (AP) — Brandon Hagel scored two goals and added two assists and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Saturday night.
Nikita Kucherov scored and had two assists, and Oliver Bjorkstrand and Anthony Cirelli also scored for the Lightning, winners of three straight.
Jakob Chychrun had a goal and assist and Ethen Frank and Justin Sourdif also scored for the Capitals, whose three-game winning streak came to an end.
After Sourdif struck 1:06 into the first, the Lightning got to work and quickly took over.
Tampa made the most of special teams early on, with Hagel tying the game with a shorthanded goal before Bjorkstrand struck on a power-play opportunity to put the Lightning up 2-1 about five minutes in.
Hagel got on the board again with a slap shot from the slot midway through the first. He found Kucherov for a breakaway goal that made it 4-1 and ended Logan Thompson’s night after he surrendered four goals on six shots.
In the second, Chychrun’s point shot went off Gage Goncalves’ skate and in to cut the lead to 4-2, and in the third, Frank picked up his third goal in the last two games to pull Washington within one.
The Lightning were without Kucherov, who left early in the second period following a hit from Tom Wilson that sent him hard into the referee.
Cirelli buried a puck loose in the crease to restore the two-goal lead late, and despite outshooting Tampa and trying to rally, Washington’s comeback bid fell short. The Capitals went 0 for 6 on the power play.
Jonas Johansson made 31 saves for the Lightning.
Charlie Lindgren made nine saves on 10 shots in relief of Thompson.
Lightning: Return home to host the Flyers on Monday.
Capitals: Host the Blue Jackets on Monday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
