Guentzel scores, Lightning beat Capitals 3-1 in home opener
Jake Guentzel finished with a goal and two assists as Tampa Bay won 3-1; Brandon Hagel helped set up both first-period goals.
Tampa Bay earned its first win of the season on Saturday, Oct. 3, beating Washington 3-1 in its home opener at Benchmark International Arena. Jake Guentzel finished with a goal and two assists.
Brandon Hagel helped the Lightning build a two-goal advantage in the first period. His pass found Charle-Edouard D'Astous for the opening goal at 2:26, and he supplied Conor Geekie for a one-timer at 16:30.
Washington answered at 7:04 of the second period when Justin Sourdif tipped Jakob Chychrun's shot from the point past Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Capitals stayed within one goal until late in the third.
Guentzel scored into the empty net at 17:55 of the final period. Nikita Kucherov and John Carlson assisted on the goal. Charlie Lindgren finished with 27 saves for Washington.
Both clubs are now 1-1-0. Tampa Bay had opened with a 5-1 loss to the Rangers on Thursday; Washington won 5-2 against Carolina on Friday.
