Things get chippy as Bolts end skid vs. Capitals

Lightning coach Rick Tocchet has been looking for his team to step up and answer Washington's bell.

On Tuesday, Tampa Bay finally rung up the Capitals with a 7-4 victory, snapping a 12-game winless streak to Washington that dates to the 2007-08 season.

And while the scoreboard lit up with a season-high seven goals for Tampa Bay, things heated up on the ice and led to chippy play by both teams. That resulted in further accusations that one of the game's biggest names crossed the line one too many times.

With Tampa Bay already having put the game all but out of reach with a pair of third-period goals, including one by Jeff Halpern for Tampa Bay's season-high fourth power-play goal of the night, two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin skated all the way from the Washington bench to railroad Lightning forward Steve Downie. While the hit itself was not in question, some on the Tampa Bay bench believed Ovechkin stuck his knee out when Downie made a move to avoid the hit. Ovechkin was suspended earlier this season for a knee-on-knee hit against Carolina.

"I thought it was a dirty hit," Halpern said of Ovechkin. "He's a (heck) of a player, and he plays hard, but it's still a dirty hit. He's charging from his bench, Downs makes a move and he sticks his knee out there. It's not the cheapest hit in the world, but it's still a dirty hit."

Downie threw a punch at Ovechkin immediately, and both were hit with roughing calls. After they came out of the box, Downie challenged one of the league's biggest stars, who obliged by dropping his gloves. But Matt Bradley came streaking off the bench to intercede on Ovechkin's behalf and traded blows with Downie.
Downie would not comment about the play after the game, but Bradley defended stepping in for his captain.

"We got a guy like that going after our best player, and obviously we can't let that happen," Bradley said. "I bet he would do the exact same thing if someone was squaring off with (Steven) Stamkos. You don't let guys like that go after your best player."

It was just one of many moments in Tuesday's contest, which started early when Brooks Laich plowed hip-first into Tampa Bay goaltender Mike Smith's head in the first period. Smith, who missed the final two months of last season because of a concussion, looked wobbly after that, twice stumbling on his skates and wiping out behind the net just before a Washington goal.

Smith eventually took himself out of the game with a 4-2 lead at the 6:24 mark of the second period, giving way to Antero Niittymaki, who made 22 saves to pick up the victory.

Smith, meanwhile, was diagnosed after the game with what the team called a cervical strain, and he is listed as day-to-day.

The Lightning jumped out of the gates with a season-high four goals in one period and built a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes with a pair of Stamkos power-play goals, a Vinny Lecavalier conversion of a 2-on-1 and Stephane Veilleux's second goal of the season.

In the second, however, Washington got a power-play goal 1:34 into the period to kick-start a three-goal outburst that tied it with 8:52 left in the period.

But Marty St. Louis scored his 250th career goal with 2:32 left to regain a lead Tampa Bay wouldn't relinquish this time, and the Lightning finished with a season-high seven goals.

"You have to give the guys credit, they could have wilted," Tocchet said. "We stayed strong."

And answered the call.