Caps still own Bolts

For the better part of the first half of Monday's game, the Lightning skated hard, defended strong, battled along the walls and withstood the dynamic Washington attack.

But one mistake, one turnover and it led to Tampa Bay being Capitals punishment once again.

Washington skated away with a 3-0 victory Monday, setting a franchise record with its 12th consecutive win against Tampa Bay, which has not beaten the Capitals since before Bruce Boudreau took over on Thanksgiving Day 2007.

Alex Ovechkin returned from a two-game suspension to score twice, while Alex Semin assisted on two goals to support Semyon Varlamov, who stopped all 26 shots for his second career shutout, second in his past three starts.

The Lightning have not beaten the Capitals since Nov. 16, 2007. Including last year, when Washington swept all six meetings, the Capitals have outscored Tampa Bay 33-14 in the past seven meetings.

Had Tampa Bay's top offensive talents matched the Capitals' top two lines, however, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

But on a night when Vinny Lecavalier showed flashes of his Rocket Richard form, hustling for loose pucks and displaying a hunger for the net not seen much in recent weeks, the rest of the top two lines didn't follow his lead. In fact, the top two lines sat on the bench for most of the final half of the third period.

Steven Stamkos, who has one point in his past five games, was held without a shot for the first time all season and played only 4:32 in the third period, none in the final seven minutes. Marty St. Louis, without a goal since Nov. 21, played four minutes in the third period. Alex Tanguay, who hasn't scored a goal since Nov. 16, logged 3:18 of ice time in the third period and failed to register a shot on goal.

Jeff Halpern played 4:27 in the third period and Ryan Malone played 5:41 as the Lightning, with just one win in the past six games, were shut out for the second time in the past five games.

In a game in which the Lightning put a lot of emphasis on seeing just where they stand compared to the top team in the Eastern Conference, they didn't get enough pull from those who need to lead the charge.

"When you play a top team you have to bring your A game," said associate coach Rick Wilson, who spoke in place of head coach Rick Tocchet, who was tied up in internal meetings after the game. "All of the individuals have to bring their A game. We probably had a few that were a little bit short and we need them all. Whether it's offensive opportunities that you're able to muster or just the consistency in your team game, you need everybody on board and you can't have any weak links."

The Lightning should have been able to gain some momentum after killing off three consecutive power plays in the first period, holding the top power-play team in the league to one shot on goal on the three chances.

But after a scoreless first period, Stephane Veilleux turned the puck over with a lazy pass in the neutral zone that was picked off by Semin, who fed cross-ice to Ovechkin 7:39 into the second period. Eric Fehr then found a bouncing puck at the top of the crease and Ovechkin was credited with his 20th of the season when another crazy bounce crossed the line with 24.1 seconds left in the second period.

"I thought we were in the game, we take some penalties and a couple of turnovers and it cost us the game," Stamkos said. "Everyone has to have their A game against a team like this."