Lightning stun Capitals for a commanding lead

Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla.

Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone scored 24 seconds apart in the third period and the streaking Tampa Bay Lightning beat Washington 4-3 to push the top-seeded Capitals to the brink of elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday night.

After winning twice in Washington, the Lightning returned home and rallied to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. Tampa Bay can advance to the conference finals with a victory at home tonight in Game 4.

Vincent Lecavalier and Sean Bergenheim also scored for the fifth-seeded Lightning, whose sixth straight postseason win gave them a commanding lead in the best-of-seven series. Tampa Bay hasn’t lost since falling into a 3-1 hole against Pittsburgh in the first round.

Alex Ovechkin had a power-play goal and an assist for Washington, which led 3-2 heading into third period after Mike Knuble, John Carlson and Ovechkin scored in the second.

The momentum shifted suddenly on Stamkos’ fourth goal of the playoffs. The sellout crowd of 20,613 had barely stopped celebrating when Malone — camped to the right of Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth — directed Nate Thompson’s pass into the left corner of the net for a 4-3 lead with 14:13 remaining.

Dwayne Roloson stopped 29 shots for the Lightning. Tampa Bay won three straight games to knock out Pittsburgh and is now just a victory away from reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since the Lightning won their only Stanley Cup title in 2004.

The Capitals outshot the Lightning 13-8 in the first period, but Roloson stopped a couple of point-blank shots.