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Caps top Lightning in shootout

Oct 11, 2011 - 5:01 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Matt Hendricks and Alexander Semin scored during the shootout phase to lift Washington to a wild 6-5 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Jason Chimera had a pair of goals for the Capitals, who also received regulation scores from Dennis Wideman, Troy Brouwer and Marcus Johansson.

Tomas Vokoun made 23 saves, including five big stops in overtime for the Capitals.

The teams were meeting for the first time since the Lightning swept the Caps in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"I guess there was a little sense of revenge, but there's 80 games left in the season though," Hendricks said. "To win these divisional games are big for us. We look forward to the next one."

Brett Clark, Teddy Purcell, Dominic Moore and Bruno Gervais each had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay, which received 38 saves from Dwyane Roloson.

Hendricks started the shootout by getting Roloson to fall to the ice before lifting a shot over the fallen netminder.

Nate Thompson then had the puck deflect off his own skate and away from Vokoun. After Alex Ovechkin missed the net for the Caps and Dominic Moore was stopped for the Lightning, Semin sealed the outcome by lifting a backhand over the pad of Roloson.

There were plenty of fireworks in overtime with three total penalties called, two of them on the Caps. Vokoun made a save on a shorthanded breakaway from Thompson and turned aside three blasts from Steven Stamkos from the left side of the ice. The Caps were caught with too many men on the ice for the second time in the contest, with the latter penalty coming with 51.4 seconds left in OT. But the Lightning couldn't push through the winning goal, as Vokoun used his right pad to deny Vincent Lecavalier from in front with about 40 seconds left.

Purcell scored on Tampa Bay's first shot, 2:22 into the contest. He skated down the right wing and from the right corner, threw the puck out front. It caromed off the skate of Caps defenseman Mike Green and into the net.

Johansson lit the lamp nearly 2 1/2 minutes later. He shot the puck from the left circle and it clanked off the rear boards. Roloson failed to cover the puck, and Johansson scored on a wrap-around.

Gervais scored from a sharp angle on the right side at the 8:35 mark, but Wideman's tally from the right point with 3:10 remaining in the first forged a 2-2 tie.

Moore gave the Lightning a 3-2 edge 56 seconds into the middle period with a successful left circle shot, but Brouwer notched his first goal in a Caps uniform less than three minutes later. The veteran forward's blast from the high slot found its way past Roloson, who was screened in front.

Penalties to Pavel Kubina and Thompson put the Lightning in a 5-on-3 deficit. After killing off one penalty, Kubina raced out of the box and went in on a breakaway, but Vokoun was there to deny the backhand try.

Washington's Mike Knuble had a goal called off with nearly 8 1/2 minutes left in the second when he pushed Roloson into the net with the puck.

Chimera netted his 100th career goal four minutes into the third, lifting a rebound in front over a fallen Roloson for a 4-3 Caps edge.

The Lightning tied it 3:42 later on Thompson's deflection in front off a right-point blast from Clark.

Tampa Bay then went in front on an innocent looking shot with 7:04 left in regulation. Clark got hold of the disc near the goal line to the right side of the cage. He flipped it toward Vokoun, and the disc deflected off the far skate of the goaltender and into the net.

Chimera equaled things with 2:44 remaining on a quick shot from the right circle.

"Guys were fumbling pucks, turnovers when we usually don't," Lightning head coach Guy Boucher said. "Weird pucks going in. It was basically a dogfight."

Game Notes

The Capitals have gone 12-2-1 at home against Tampa Bay in their last 15 matchups at Verizon Center...Stamkos and Ovechkin are both looking for their first goals of the season. Stamkos' 96 goals since the start of the 2009-10 season are the most in the league over that time, while Ovechkin's 82 are third...The Caps went 0-for-7 on the power play, while the Lighting finished 0-for-4.