The Backcheck: More Big Cat magic, defensive focus extend Lightning's win streak to eight

Five minutes into the third period on Saturday, Washington Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas found himself breaking in alone toward Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Protas made one deke before shooting the puck, but Vasilevskiy stayed in front of the chance to keep his team ahead 1-0 in the Saturday matinee at Capital One Arena.

It was just over a minute later that rookie forward Gage Goncalves’ second NHL goal extended the Tampa Bay Lightning lead to 2-0, a score that held as the game-winner in a 3-1 triumph and extended Tampa Bay’s winning streak to eight games.

The Lightning are now 35-20-4, a record that’s been helped by a string of strong defense and goaltending over the past 10 games. The Lightning are 9-0-1 since Jan. 30.

Defenseman Ryan McDonagh repeatedly used the words “buy-in” to describe what’s led to the Lightning winning streak.

“Just defending well in our own zone and letting Vasy see the puck. Obviously if there are breakdowns he’s been playing huge for us, but (we’re) not forcing things offensively. We certainly like to score goals and create, but we’ve got great buy-in defensively and our offensive chances are coming from those good plays defensively,” McDonagh said.

Vasilevskiy was central once again on Saturday, but Washington was limited on offense early. Tampa Bay outshot the Capitals 10 to five in the opening 20 minutes, and one of those shots gave the Lightning an early lead.

After two unsuccessful power plays, Lightning coach Jon Cooper switched up combinations for the team’s third power-play chance of the first period.

A Brayden Point shot was saved by Washington goalie Logan Thompson on the man advantage, but forward Mitchell Chaffee buried the rebound for his 11th goal of the season and a 1-0 lead with 2:49 left in the period.

“As a power-play unit you’re only trying to score one every four, five times. You’re not going to score every time, and it just makes it that much more important that you’re trying to get the momentum on the power play,” Chaffee said. "We had a good opportunity to score there and we did, and that just kind of brings momentum for our team.”

Washington (38-14-8) entered Saturday’s game as the top team in the Eastern Conference, but the Lightning showed their confidence continues to grow alongside their win streak.

A scoreless second period was followed by a more action-filled third period, beginning with the Goncalves goal which pushed the visitors’ lead to 2-0 with just under 14 minutes left in the game.

Linemate Nick Paul entered the offensive zone and drove the puck through the right corner before turning toward the boards and dishing the puck to Goncalves in the high slot. The young forward wasted no time in zipping his shot through Thompson’s glove hand near the left post for his second NHL goal and a 2-0 lead.

Washington captain Alex Ovechkin silenced the shutout bid for Vasilevskiy with four minutes remaining and pulled another goal closer to the NHL’s all-time mark when his spinning shot made it 2-1 with 3:59 left in regulation.

Brandon Hagel had the answer for Tampa Bay, extending his point streak to eight games on an empty-net goal in the closing minutes. The goal was Hagel’s 30th of the season, tying his career high.

Tampa Bay finished January with a 7-8-1 record. Since then, the standings points have stacked for the Bolts.

“The belief in this room never left,” Hagel said. "We knew we were a good hockey team. We knew if we stuck with it that good things will come, and they’ve obviously started to come. Eight straight is obviously impressive, but when it gets this high I think you kind of have to step back and not get comfortable because that can change quick. Obviously everyone in the East continues to win, so there’s still no time to take a step back.”

Vasilevskiy ended with 21 saves on 22 shots for a .955 save percentage. He is now 9-0-1 with a .947 save percentage in his last 10 starts and improved to 29-15-3 this season with Saturday’s win.

Tampa Bay has restricted opponents to one goal or less in four straight games, and the Lightning credit that focus for their win streak that leads the NHL right now.

“A lot of people probably think of the Tampa Bay Lightning as scoring a bunch of goals, but we’re doing it with defense,” Cooper said. "That’s been the key for us in this little stretch, and it couldn't be coming at a better time as we’re going down the stretch here and trying to solidify a playoff spot.”

"So hopefully we can just keep this going.”

Tampa Bay has pulled within a single standings point of the Florida Panthers (36-21-3). The in-state Atlantic Division rivals will face one another on Monday in Sunrise as both teams chase the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs (37-20-2).

Benjamin’s Three Stars:

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (21 saves, Win)
2. Gage Goncalves, TBL (Game-winning goal)
3. Mitchell Chaffee, TBL (Goal)