Vasilevskiy helps Lightning shut out Capitals
Kucherov gets point in 8th straight for Tampa Bay; Washington's 5-game winning streak ends
WSH@TBL: Point off the give-and-go from Nikita Kucherov puts the Lightning up by 2 in the 3rd
TAMPA — Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves for his first shutout of the season, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-0 win against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
Conor Geekie scored his first NHL goal, and Nikita Kucherov had an assist to extend his season-opening point streak to eight games for the Lightning (5-3-0), who had lost three of four. It was Vasilevskiy’s 35th NHL shutout and first against Washington.
Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves for the Capitals (5-2-0), who had their five-game winning streak end.
Mitchell Chaffee gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 5:27 of the second period, redirecting a shot by Nick Paul over Lindgren’s glove.
Brayden Point extended the lead to 2-0 at 2:26 of the third period when he scored from the edge of the crease to finish a give-and-go with Kucherov.
Geekie made it 3-0 at 3:10 with a one-timer from the left face-off circle off a pass by Anthony Cirelli.