Alexander Semin made me eat my words. A victory for the Lightning? Ovechkin vs. Stamkos? Semin showed the world that he isn't happy playing third fiddle to Ovechkin and Stamkos when he potted 3 and helped on 2 others for 5 points in the 6-3 Caps victory.
Dan Ellis saw only 25 shots, compared to Washington's Neuvirth who faced 41. The Lightning did a great job of keeping the Caps shot total down, but Ellis played only solid and couldn't answer 5 shots that gave the Caps a comfortable lead for the majority of the game.
Neuvirth played well, and made a lot of saves that could have easily been goals. He kept it close long enough for Washington to pull away in the end. He is slowly closing the gap to Sergei Bobrovsky for best rookie goaltender in the league.
Neuvirth was huge in the first period when it could have easily swung to 3-0 Tampa. His stops gave Washington a jolt and they quickly potted two in the second.
Stamkos did have two points, a PP assist and an even strength goal. But it was Tampa's missed opportunities that were the real story. The Lightning had 8 shots in close in the 1st alone, but only converted on one.
Vinny Lecavalier has played well recently but was unable to help in the later stages of the game because of a broken bone in his hand from earlier in the game. He is expected to miss three weeks. This is a huge blow for Tampa. A loss to a division opponent, failed scoring chances and one of their big three getting knocked out of the line up for three weeks.
A night to forget for Lightning fans, and a night where Washington may have squashed the thought that their would be too much competition within the division this year.
Player of the game obviously is Semin, looks like he will be getting a big pay day at the end of this year.
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