Game #24 Recap: Caps 6 Tampa Bay 0

Washington got a first period goal from John Carlson and that would be enough for the Caps who blanked the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-0. John Erskine scored early in the second and then it was the Alexander Semin show. Semin scored a natural hat trick in the span of 4:29. The first was set up on a 2-on-1 aerial pass from Marcus Johansson. The second and third came on the power play set up by Nicklas Backstrom. Tom Poti chipped in a goal in the third to round out the scoring. The Caps ended the Lightning's 5-game winning streak and held NHL leading scorer Steven Stamkos scoreless with just 1 shot on goal. Semyon Varlamov stopped all 17 shots he faced for his second consecutive win and third shutout of his career. The Caps take on the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow at the Verizon Center.

Of Note:

• Alexander Semin is now second in the NHL with 17 goals on the season. The hat trick was his third of the season and second against the Lightning. He set a Capitals record with the fast hat trick in team history. The mark was formerly held by Peter Bondra.
• Marcus Johansson had his fist multiple point game of his career. I think he has a few more in his future.
• The Capitals dominated the face-off dot winning 55% of the draws. The Caps have been at 50% or higher in face-off percentage for the last 11 straight games.
• Alex Ovechkin collected 2 power play assists as the Caps scored on 2 of 4. The penalty killers did not allow a goal on 5 Tampa attempts including a lengthy 5-on-3.
• Brooks Laich, Matt Hendricks, and Brian Fahey picked up 1 assist apiece. For Fahey it was the first point in his NHL career.

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