The Washington Capitals are on the brink of elimination after losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the third straight game after the Caps led the series 2-0. Game 5’s loss on Saturday was highlighted by falling behind 3-0 in the game’s first 21 minutes, as the Lightning held on to a 3-2 win. Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen placed the blame on himself for all three goals.
“The first three goals were all my fault,” Niskanen said after the game per Tarik El-Bashir of NBC Sports Washington. “…I got to be better next game.”
Niskanen and his blueliner partner Dmitry Orlov were on the ice on all three of the Lightning’s goals. And his dreadful night got started early as Tampa Bay scored 19 seconds into the game.
After an Orlov turnover in the neutral zone, Niskanen skated up to the blue line to try to poke the puck back in the neutral zone, but he whiffed, leaving Orlov as the last line of defense on what turned into a quick 2-on-1 break. Ryan Callahan fed Cedric Paquette, who easily deposited the puck in the net past Braden Holtby.
The second Tampa goal started off with another Orlov turnover. Nikita Kucherov controlled the loose puck, feeding it to Ondrej Palat with Niskanen as the lone man to beat. Niskanen failed to stop the puck and whiffed on trying to block the shot that got past Holtby later in the first period.
Goal No. 3 came just 33 seconds into the second period. The Lightning had a breakaway and Anton Stralman simply just beat Niskanen off the edge to get a shot on goal. Holtby initially got a stick on the shot, and the rebound attempt from Stralman. But Orlov and Niskanen both failed to clear the puck out of the crease and Callahan trickled down to tap the loose puck in the net, extending Tampa’s lead to 3-0.
Niskanen and Orlov simply did not have their best of nights. Niskanen eventually got an assist on an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal 4:21 into the second. Both Niskanen and Orlov finished the night with a minus-2 rating.
Their mishaps and/or inability to stop the puck directly cost the Capitals. And, Niskanen is not ducking the finger pointing, accepting the blame for a huge letdown that has Washington on the brink of elimination in the Eastern Conference Final
