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WASHINGTON – metropolis Bay Lightning railcar Guy Boucher might rattling substantially have been sincere when he titled Alex Ovechkin's top-seeded pedagogue Capitals "a hockey machine" and "a more coercive aggroup than us."

Boucher and whatever of his players also belike were earnest when they prefabricated references to "luck" that helped the fifth-seeded Lightning during Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal.

All that matters is this, of course: The Lightning are killing soured penalties, activity dripless accumulation and getting terrific performances from 41-year-old netminder Dwayne Roloson.

Oh, yes, and winning. Even on the road.

Sean Bergenheim scored early, Steven Stamkos additional the go-ahead content on a noesis play, and Roloson prefabricated 26 saves, serving the Lightning beat the Capitals 4-2 on weekday punctuation in the series opener. Steve Downie had a content and an assist, and saint Moore additional an empty-netter with 40 seconds mitt for the Lightning, who have won quaternary straightforward games since dropping behind metropolis 3-1 in the prototypal round.

"I don't undergo most us existence tired," said Bergenheim, who scored 2:12 into the game. "I don't feel it correct now."

Roloson got the shutout, and Bergenheim provided the exclusive content when metropolis Bay won at metropolis 1-0 in Game 7 on weekday night. The Lightning flew straightforward to pedagogue that night, crawling into their hotel beds after 3 a.m. Thursday.

They were backwards on the cover for a 7 p.m. faceoff Friday.

"It was beatific for us, in a way," metropolis Bay edifice Nate archaeologist said. "We category of intend correct backwards at it and don't have a aggregation of instance off. We're still in game mode."

Game 2 is Sun punctuation at Washington.

The Lightning's get-ahead-and-focus-on-defense strategy confounded the Capitals.

Ovechkin was held without a saucer and restricted to digit shots, and pedagogue went 0 for 5 on the noesis endeavor — making metropolis Bay's penalisation killers 39 for 40 this postseason.

"They attain it frustrating," Capitals railcar Bruce Boudreau said. "They just secure back, and you're disagreeable to push. They're rattling beatific at it."

Roloson exclusive necessary to attain fivesome saves in the ordinal period.

"We're astonied by the termination tonight — but bright with it," said the goalie, acquired from the New royalty Islanders on New Year's Day. "We were serendipitous to get a hockey game. We had whatever bounces."

That's true. For example, the Lightning trailed 2-1 but tied it with 3:43 mitt in the ordinal period, when Downie was disagreeable to edifice the puck, but his pass deflected soured defenseman histrion Hannan's stick and fluttered over netminder Michal Neuvirth's correct shoulder.

And Stamkos' content came with 31.6 seconds remaining in the period, when Neuvirth obstructed his initial essay but the puck came correct backwards to the forward, who place in the rebound.

That noesis endeavor came when Jason Chimera was dispatched soured for roughing after a hit on Pavel Kubina, who didn't endeavor in the ordinal period. That call drew boos from the bag fans. Those jeers exclusive grew louder, naturally, when Stamkos converted the extra-man chance.

That ended reversing the 2-1 advance pedagogue shapely with goals by herb Semin and Eric Fehr.

The Lightning played most of the game without stager mitt wing saint Gagne, who was helped to the intermixture shack after his helmet banged on the cover when he fell hornlike mass a hit by Hannan in the prototypal period. The Lightning said Gagne and Kubina would be re-evaluated Saturday.

Boudreau chastised his players for engaging in what he titled "river hockey" — the variety of back-and-forth, wide-open style the Capitals used to rely on before making a conjunctive effort to pore on defense.

In the prototypal round, rookie Neuvirth — he's 18 years younger than Roloson — and the Capitals allowed the New royalty Rangers to reason a noble amount of digit goals in the threesome games played at Washington. The Lightning surpassed that amount in a span of digit periods.

"We're staying rattling down-to-earth most this win," Boucher said. "They're a more coercive aggroup than us, and at whatever point, it's extremity to show."

NOTES: Capitals D Evangelist Carlson played exclusive 36 seconds in the ordinal period, and Boudreau said he was period to day. "I'm hoping he crapper go Sunday," Boudreau said. ... pedagogue C Nicklas Backstrom's content drought reached 13 games and he recognized he might be starting to essay likewise hornlike to score. "That's what happens when you struggle," he said. ... The Capitals had an manifest content waved soured 13 1/2 minutes in, when officials ruled Brooks Laich kicked the puck time Roloson.

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