Lightning takes one back from Caps with 4-2 win

WASHINGTON» Victor Hedman scored his first goal of the playoffs and added two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final Tuesday night and cut their series deficit to 2-1.

Hedman had the primary assist on power-play goals by Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov and was a key part of three big penalty kills that gave Tampa Bay some much-needed momentum.

Determined to create the kind of shift he thought could turn the East final around after back-toback home losses, the Norris Trophy finalist as the NHL’s top defenseman was one of the most dominant players on the ice.

Criticized for his play in the first two games against Washington, Vasilevskiy was on top of his game as the Capitals put 38 shots on net. Vasilevskiy made seven saves on the penalty kill alone.

The Lightning would still like to cut down on the quality chances Vasilevskiy has to stop in Game 4 on Thursday and beyond, like the one Brett Connolly scored on after a turnover by Ondrej Palat. They also surrendered a 6-on-5 goal to Evgeny Kuznetsov with 3:02 left that made things interesting in the final minutes.

But the offensive depth that helped them get through the first two rounds in five games apiece returned with Hedman and Brayden Point scoring just Tampa Bay’s second and third evenstrength goals in the series.

Tampa Bay got two injury scares in the third period when Stamkos hobbled off after taking a slap shot from teammate Braydon Coburn in the right knee and Tyler Johnson was cross-checked by Michal Kempny. Stamkos and Johnson each returned minutes later.