Associated Press
The NHL playoff roundup…
TAMPA, Fla. ó In an instant, the top-seeded Washington Capitals went from climbing back into the Eastern Conference semifinals to the brink of elimination against the surging Tampa Bay Lightning.
Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone scored 24 seconds apart in the third period and the fifth-seeded Lightning beat the reeling Capitals 4-3 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead on Tuesday night.
Tampa Bay, which won the first two games of the best-of-seven matchup on the road, can advance to the conference finals with a victory at home on Wednesday night in Game 4.
ěThis team is a good team. Itís going to be hard to win four games,î Tampa Bayís Martin St. Louis said of the struggling Capitals. ěObviously weíre happy about the result tonight and we just have to reload tomorrow.î
Vincent Lecavalier and Sean Bergenheim also scored for the Lightning, whose sixth straight postseason win leaves them one victory away from reaching the East finals for the first time since Tampa Bay won its only Stanley Cup title in 2004. The Lightning havenít lost since falling into a 3-1 hole against Pittsburgh in the first round.
ěI think all year weíve been pretty resilient,î St. Louis said, ěand I always feel like we give ourselves a chance.î
Alex Ovechkin had a power-play goal and an assist for Washington, which led 3-2 heading into third period after he, Mike Knuble and John Carlson scored in the second.
The momentum shifted suddenly on Stamkosí fourth goal of the playoffs. The sellout crowd of 20,613 had barely stopped celebrating when Malone ó camped to the right of Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth ó directed Nate Thompsonís pass into the left corner of the net for a 4-3 lead with 14:13 remaining.
ěI think we were waiting for things to happen in the second period, and our focus wasnít right,î Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. ěWe just got back and reloaded and came out the way weíre supposed to play. We had a lot of enthusiasm ó not being scared to lose, but being hungry to win.î
The stunned Capitals never recovered.
ěTheyíre uncanny when they want to get a goal. Itís like they just snap their fingers or hit a button. They just dial it up,î Knuble said. ěYou can see itís like theyíre flipping a switch. … It leaves you flabbergasted. You donít know what to say about it.î
Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau felt Maloneís go-ahead goal should not have counted. But referees Paul Devorski and Dan OíRourke didnít blow their whistles to wave it off or call a penalty.
ěIf you look at it, Malone is driving the net and he pushes our player into our goaltender, and he canít kick out his right leg to make the save,î Boudreau said. ěItís a no goal, no penalty call. Itís one of the best referees in the league and I fully respect him, but I donít think it should have counted. Thatís my humble opinion.î
Dwayne Roloson had 29 saves for the Lightning, and again outplayed Neuvirth, who had 26 stops.
Canucks 2, Predators 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ó Ryan Kesler scored his second power-play goal at 10:45 of overtime, and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 and grabbed a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night.
Fans in the sellout crowd reacted angrily, throwing towels and other debris onto the ice.
Kesler scored his first two goals of the postseason and had an assist, and Chris Higgins had a goal for Vancouver. The Canucks, the Presidentsí Trophy winners in the regular season, bounced back from a 2-1, double-overtime loss in Game 2 and regained home-ice advantage.
Game 4 is Thursday night in Nashville.
Joel Ward and David Legwand both scored for the Predators, who matched the Canucksí energy but not their shots. Vancouver outshot Nashville 40-26 through regulation.