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Capitals sweep Lightning

By Michael Marzzacco

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 21: Dmitry Orlov #9 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the third period at Capital One Arena on December 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 21: Dmitry Orlov #9 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the third period at Capital One Arena on December 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Washington Capitals have not only swept their weekend back-to-back, they swept the season series over the Lightning winning all three games.

The Washington Capitals have now won 10 of their last 12 games thanks to a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dmitry Orlov once again came through with what turned out to be the game-winning goal with 6:03 remaining.

The win improves Washington’s record to 26-6-5 as they remain at the top of the NHL standings with 57 points, five ahead of the St. Louis Blues.

The first period was scoreless as both teams went 0-for-2 on the power play. The Caps outshot the Lightning 13-6 in the opening 20 minutes.

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The Caps took a 1-0 lead at 4:40 in the second period with a blast from downtown by Radko Gudas for his first goal as a member of the Washington Capitals. It was a slapshot right from the point. Lars Eller and Jonas Siegenthaler had the helpers.

Gudas told NHL.com after the game:

"“I didn’t particularly think it was a great shot, but it hit off somebody [in front], so really fortunate to bounce that one in. Important thing is the two points tonight.”"

The Caps took their 1-0 lead into the locker room for the second intermission with the Caps outshooting the Lightning 16-7 in the middle stanza.

The Lightning tied the game at the 10 minute mark of the third with Nikita Kucherov’s 12th goal of the season. At 13:57 the Caps retook the lead with Dmitry Orlov’s blast from outside the Ovi office at the left face-off circle for his third goal of the season.

Orlov also came through against the Bolts winning it in overtime the last time these teams met at Capital One Arena. Jakub Vrana and Evgeny Kuznetsov were credited with the assists.

The Lightning pulled their goalie and had a power play late in the game, some extra ammo in the hopes of tying the score. That plan backfired when Nic Dowd potted an empty net shorthander for his third goal of the season. Tom Wilson and Orlov had the helpers.

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It was a frustrating night for both power play units, the Caps going 0-for-3 and the Lightning going 0-for-7 including an inability to cash in on a 5-on-3 opportunity in the third. The Lightning outshot the Capitals 14-6 but Washington had the edge overall 35-27. Braden Holtby made 26 saves in the win for a .963 save percentage.

The Caps will have another rematch on their hands when they travel to Boston to take on the Bruins Monday night.

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