Hedman, Lightning edge Caps

Washington

Victor Hedman scored his first goal of the playoffs and added two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final Tuesday night and cut their series deficit to 2-1.

Hedman had the primary assist on power-play goals by Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov and was a key part of three big penalty kills that gave Tampa Bay some much-needed momentum. Determined to create the kind of shift he thought could turn the East final around after back-to-back home losses, the Norris Trophy finalist as the NHL's top defenseman was one of the most dominant players on the ice and extended his point streak to eight games

Criticized for his play in the first two games against Washington, Vasilevskiy was on top of his game as the Capitals put 38 shots on net. Vasilevskiy made seven saves on the penalty kill alone to save a beleaguered unit that came in ranked 13th out of 16 playoff teams.

The Lightning would still like to cut down on the quality chances Vasilevskiy has to stop in Game 4 on Thursday and beyond, like the one Brett Connolly scored on after a turnover by Ondrej Palat. They also surrendered a 6-on-5 goal to Evgeny Kuznetsov with 3:02 left that made things interesting in the final minutes.

But the offensive depth that helped them get through the first two rounds in five games apiece returned with Hedman and Brayden Point scoring just Tampa Bay's second and third even-strength goals in the series. Hedman now has a goal and 10 assists during his point streak.

Note: The Colorado Avalanche are bringing back defenseman Mark Barberio on a two-year deal. Barberio is coming off a season in which he had three goals and 10 assists. He was limited to 46 games due to a lower-body injury, but returned at the end of the regular season and played in all six games during the first-round playoff series against Nashville. The 28-year-old Barberio was claimed by Colorado off waivers from Montreal on Feb. 2, 2017. A sixth-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2008, he's played in 239 career games with the Lightning, Canadiens and Avalanche.