| Washington Capitals vs Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||
| Team | P1 | P2 | P3 | OT | Shootout | Total |
 Washington Capitals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Tampa Bay Lightning | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Current Status: Final (Shootout) | ||||||
Plus: A shorthanded Caps team went toe to toe with a great team and played very well. That’s all you can really ask for from a team. It sucks to lose but the boys left it all on the ice and brought it all the way through a shootout. That’s how it goes sometimes.
Minus: Nick Jensen’s negated goal. If the Caps weren’t offsides by inches, they win the game, or at least would have been up 2-1. Caps must still lead the league in waved-off goals.
Key Moment: It might seem odd to say this, but the Lightning’s goal was a pretty key moment. Tampa was pushing play up to that point. Once they scored, the Caps really came on and played well the rest of the game. Sometimes you need a kick in the butt to get going and this team loves to get kicked in the butt.
Caps Player of the Game: Anthony Mantha has been hot, hot, hot. It’s great to see a guy that has had his struggles since he got the Caps start to show his potential. Let’s hope he can continue his great play for his and the team’s sake. This team needs as many goals as possible.
Final Thoughts: A win would have been nice but the Caps came to play and held one of the best offensive teams in the league to just one goal and that goal came from a fourth line deflection. The game kind of felt like a playoff game and it’s a good sign the Caps played so well. If they can keep up that play they’ll win more than they’ll lose.
Tampa’s power play is top-three in the league as well and the Caps shut them down with out many chances. Head coach Spencer Carbery knows this team doesn’t have the offensive bite just yet so he’s getting the boys to lock down defensively to give his team a chance to win. A waved-off goal was a difference between a win and loss.