For Alexander Ovechkin and his Washington team, the match against Tampa turned out to be difficult. The Capitals broke their losing streak, and Ovechkin was again left without goals. In addition, he was first thrown hard onto the ice, and then the captain of the capital’s club was robbed by Andrei Vasilevsky.

No respect for the legend!

Vasilevsky vs Ovechkin

After Washington changed a lot in the offseason, adding several players, the club was expected to perform more confidently than in the previous regular season. None of the experts, of course, predicted a guaranteed entry into the playoffs, but many rightly believed that the Capitals would fight to the end for a spot in the Stanley Cup. However, the capital club surprised by going on a five-game winning streak after the defeat to New Jersey. At the same time, Spencer Carbery’s team also earned points in matches against serious opponents: Dallas, Vegas and the Devils.

But Tampa showed an unstable game, losing three out of seven matches. At the same time, the Lightning stalled due to the uncertain performance of the goalkeeper tandem Andrei Vasilevsky – Jonas Johansson. Vasilevsky even managed to receive a portion of criticism, including after an unsuccessful meeting against Toronto. Then the Russian’s playing time was only 29:31, during which he missed four goals, and his save percentage was extremely low – 71.40. After the match with the Leafs, the head coach of Tampa even gave Vasilevsky a rest, sending the goalkeeper to the bench in the next meeting.

Andrey Vasilevsky (right) / Photo: © Mike Carlson / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Andrei had the opportunity to prove himself and gain a boost of confidence against Washington, which was on a good run. It’s interesting that the day before the meeting they tried to find out from Vasilevsky how to play against the main sniper of our time, Ovechkin.

“Just close your eyes and hope for the best,” the Russian Tampa goalkeeper shared his secret.

“Dry” victory for “Washington”

And although the teams were left without goals in the first period, there were several reasons to talk about Ovechkin again. So, in the first minute, the Washington captain flew into the hosts’ striker Conor Ghiki at speed in the corner of the court. Usually you wouldn’t envy a Russian’s sacrifices, but Giki unexpectedly not only stayed on his feet, but also dropped Alexander onto the ice in response. However, the fight between the players continued and the Russian won, who took possession of the puck and passed to Dylan Strome, but the Canadian was unable to beat Vasilevskiy.

Victor Hedman and Alexander Ovechkin / Photo: © Mike Carlson / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Then, in the middle of the period, at Tampa’s home arena, they decided to remind who inspired forward Brandon Hagel at the beginning of his hockey career. The broadcast showed a photo of Hagel wearing the number eight jersey in honor of Ovechkin.

But the spectators saw the goal scored only in the second period. In the 26th minute, Mitchell Chaffee fired a wrist shot into the near corner of Charlie Lindgren’s goal and opened the scoring. After that, Washington noticeably improved and began to attack more, but it was not possible to equalize, each time Vasilevsky saved the hosts.

Ovechkin also had a good moment. The captain of the Capitals tried to finish the game and score into an empty corner, but the Tampa goalkeeper managed to move to the far post and rob his compatriot.

At the same time, in the second 20 minutes, Washington outscored the opponent twice – 16 hits versus eight. And it seemed that in the final period the guests would be able to make a comeback. However, Tampa already at the beginning of this game period removed all questions about the winner.

First, in the 43rd minute, Brayden Point scored with a pass from Kucherov. The Russian brought his streak with points from the start of the season to 8 matches, and the record for this indicator is shared by three players – Martin St. Louis (11 games), Steven Stamkos (11) and Kucherov himself (11).

Just 44 seconds later, Tampa forced Lindgren to get the puck out of the net again. This time it was Giki who scored, dropping Ovechkin in the first period. In the remaining time, Washington tried to correct the situation, but Vasilevsky dried up the opponent.

As a result, the Lightning interrupted the Capitals’ winning streak – 3:0. The Russian goalie, having stopped 32 shots, scored the 35th shutout in his career and moved into fifth place in this indicator in the NHL among his compatriots. The leader is Evgeniy Nabokov (59). After a brilliant victory, Vasilevsky should feel the confidence that he lacked at the start of the regular season.