Thursday Caterwaul: Florida Panthers Open Forum

Braden Holtby stopped all 29 shots for his second straight shutout as the Washington Capitals advanced to the Stanley Cup final with a 4-0 road win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Alex Ovechkin, who had never advanced beyond the second round prior to this season, scored 62 seconds into the game and Andre Burakovsky bagged his first two goals of the postseason. Nicklas Backstrom completed the scoring with an empty-net goal with 3:43 remaining.

The Lightning, who led the NHL in goals during the regular season, failed to score in the last 159 minutes, 27 seconds of the series. a power outage which cost the Bolts a chance at a second title.

Washington will meet the rested and ready expansion Vegas Golden Knights for Lord Stanley’s silver chalice, with the series starting on Monday night in Nevada. The Golden Knights beat the Capitals in both regular season meetings.

This will be Washington second crack at capturing the Cup since entering the league in 1974. They were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in 1998.

Highlights (courtesy of NHL.com)

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