• TAMPA, FL - MAY 11: Lars Eller #20 of the Washington Capitals scores a goal against Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on May 11, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Photo: Bruce Bennett / 2018 Getty Images
Photo: Bruce Bennett
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TAMPA, FL - MAY 11: Lars Eller #20 of the Washington Capitals scores a goal against Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on May 11, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) less
TAMPA, FL - MAY 11: Lars Eller #20 of the Washington Capitals scores a goal against Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals ... more
Photo: Bruce Bennett

Tampa, Fla.

Alex Ovechkin had a power-play goal and an assist in his Eastern Conference final debut, leading the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.

Braden Holtby stopped 19 shots and Michal Kempny, Jay Beagle and Lars Eller also scored for the Caps, who are alive beyond the second round of the playoffs for the first time in Ovechkin's brilliant 13-year career.

Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat scored for Tampa Bay, which trailed 4-0 heading into the third period.

Game 2 is Sunday night at Amalie Arena, where Tampa Bay also lost Game 1 in the second round against Boston.

The Capitals dominated in improving to 6-1 on the road this postseason, with Kempny giving them an early 1-0 lead.

Ovechkin made it 2-0 a mere five seconds after the Lightning thought they had tied it in the closing seconds of the opening period. But Nikita Kucherov's would-be breakaway goal was waved off because Tampa Bay had too many men on the ice.

T.J. Oshie won the ensuing faceoff in the Lightning zone, getting the puck to Evgeny Kuznetsov, who fed Ovechkin.

Note: The Maple Leafs stayed in-house for their new general manager, choosing Kyle Dubas. Dubas joined the team as assistant GM in July 2014. The 32-year-old Dubas is an advocate of analytics and succeeds 75-year-old Lou Lamoriello.