In his regular season debut, Marcus Johansson has made a statement so far. So has Tomas Vokoun, but not in a good way.
Johansson responded to being scratched Saturday by scoring early in the first period, but Vokoun has given up two questionable goals as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals are tied at 2-2 after 20 minutes.
The Lightning struck first in what can be considered typical fashion against the Caps: off a weird bounce. Teddy Purcell brought the puck into the zone and fired what seemed like a harmless centering attempt towards the net. Luckily for Purcell, Mike Green was in front of the crease and the puck bounced off his skate and past Vokoun to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 2:22.
Johansson managed to tie the game about two minutes later when his initial shot missed wide and bounced off the back boards. Roloson dove to cover the puck, but Johansson was able to poke the puck away before Roloson could get to it as he wrapped around and put it in the net for his first goal of the season.
Less than four minutes later, Bruno Gervais scored on yet another sharp-angle shot to restore Tampa Bay's lead. There was no bounce this time, but the puck somehow eluded Vokoun and tricked past him. Gervais' goal was his first of the season and first since March 2010.
Dennis Wideman tied the game at 2-2 at 16:50 when his slap shot from the point beat a screened Roloson. Shots are 9-4 in favor of Washington.
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