The Washington Capitals had a goal taken away from them in the first period, but they made up for it by scoring three in the second.
Mike Knuble, John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin scored to give the Caps a 3-2 lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning after 40 minutes.
Knuble, whose apparent power play goal was negated in the first period, made sure there was no doubt when he scored just 59 seconds into the period. Ovechkin had a step on the Lightning defense on a breakaway, but Dwayne Roloson poke-checked the puck away. Ovechkin, however, gathered the loose puck and threw it on net. Knuble was there to clean up the mess for his second goal of the playoffs.
Carlson gave the Caps their first lead since the second period of Game 1 when he fired a slap shot from the center point that beat a heavily-screened Roloson for his first goal of the playoffs at 7:58.
The lead did not last long as Vincent Lecavalier got enough of his stick on Martin St. Louis' centering pass to beat Michal Neuvirth at 11:51.
The Caps' power play, which had been 0-11 entering the game in the series, finally broke through at 17:27 thanks to Ovechkin. With a 5-on-3 advantage because of two Tampa Bay hooking calls within 34 seconds of each other, the Caps put pressure on the Lightning. A scrum in front had Roloson sprawling for the puck, but it squirted out into the slot. Ovechkin was all alone when he gathered the puck and fired a top-shelf wrist shot over Roloson's glove hand for his fifth goal of the playoffs.
Shots were 14-7 in favor of the Caps in the period and are 27-15 in favor of the Caps for the game.