Capitals fall to Lightning in Game 2 of our NHL 20 simulation

The virtual Washington Capitals fought but fell short, again.

This time the Washington Capitals suffered a late 4-3 loss thanks to a costly third period and a barrage of goals in the last two frames. They now trail 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Final after a loss yesterday.

The Lightning struck first with a goal in front of the net from Yanni Gourde at 7:54. Tyler Johnson and Victor Hedman had the assists.

The Caps would get whistled for a penalty later on when Garnet Hathaway was called for a hooking minor at 14:59 but was able to successfully kill it off. 1-0 Bolts was the score after one with the Caps being outshot 8-5.

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The Caps would tie it at 7:52 of the second period with a goal from T.J. Oshie beating Andrei Vasilevskiy glove side after getting a pass from Nicklas Backstrom. Alex Ovechkin had the secondary assist. Oshie’s goal came on the power play after Pat Maroon was called for tripping.

The Lightning would answer with a power play goal of their own to go back in front after Jakub Vrana was called for tripping and Nick Jensen was called for hooking each at 13:50. On the 5-on-3 attack Nikita Kucherov made the Caps pay.

When Gourde was called for tripping the Caps got back on the power play attack and knotted it at two before the second intermission. The goal came from Backstrom for his team-leading ninth goal of the playoffs on a shot up the middle from downtown at 15:58 off a pass from Dmitry Orlov.

2-2 was the score after two periods. The Caps were outshot 16-9 in the middle stanza and 24-14 overall. Washington had the edge on the face-off circle better in the second period than they did in the first, 10-7 compared to 2-5. It set the stage for an entertaining third period.

At 1:38 the Lightning retook the lead with a goal from Brayden Point. Ryan McDonagh and Kucherov had the helpers. The Caps answered at 2:13 with a goal from up front by Oshie for his second goal of the game and the fifth of the spring.

It looked like overtime would be eminent from this crazy matchup but Point added his second goal of the game at 17:04 and that would prove to be the difference. The Caps were outshot 10-7 in the third period and 34-21 overall.

Can the virtual Caps bounce back with a win in Game 3 when the series shifts back to Washington? Check back here tomorrow and find out.