Offense had come easy for the Washington Capitals to open the 2024-25 campaign, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday against Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Washington had its chances, but ultimately, failed to solve Vasilevskiy and seemed a step behind in a 3-0 loss to the Bolts.
Here are the takeaways from the defeat, which stops the Capitals’ winning streak at five games.
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Capitals Struggle To Sustain Pressure, Get Chances But Can’t Solve Vasilevskiy
Washington struggled over the course of the night to really sustain pressure in the offensive zone, as the Lightning did a good job of shutting things down, winning puck battles and beating D.C. in transition, especially in the first half of the second and third.
Still, the Capitals got their fair share of chances, ultimately outshooting Tampa 31-21, but there was just no solving Vasilevskiy, who was on top of his game as he shut out D.C. for the first time in his career.