TAMPA http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-mathew-barzal-jersey , Fla. (AP) Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals overcame a major hurdle by reaching the Eastern Conference final.Just like that, they’re in a full-on sprint toward the finish.The Capitals scored in the opening minute of the game and twice in the last 1:02 of the second period Sunday night to pull away to a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning and a 2-0 lead in the East final.”It’s huge but it’s not over yet,” Ovechkin said. ”We played hard and played smart. You can see all four lines doing their job.”Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller each had a goal and two assists. Ovechkin and Tom Wilson had a goal and an assist apiece for the Caps, who took the first two games of the best-of-seven matchup on the road. Since 1974-75, teams that take a 2-0 lead in the conference final or semifinal have a series record of 39-2 (95.1 percent).”We didn’t panic. Just stayed to the system and played the right way,” Ovechkin said. ”We stayed calm and waited for our opportunities.”Devante Smith-Pelly and Brett Connolly also scored, helping Washington improve to 7-1 on the road this postseason. It’s their first visit to the conference final during Ovechkin’s 13-season career.”You’re on the road and it’s us against them, and this group has really bonded,” coach Barry Trotz said. ”They’ve got a lot of resiliency, and they’re having fun.”Game 3 is Tuesday night in Washington.The Lightning had the best record in the Eastern Conference this season and breezed through the first rounds of the playoffs against New Jersey and Boston.Little has gone right against the Capitals.”For a team that’s been used to being able to make some plays, we sure haven’t made them in these two games. It’s very uncharacteristic of us. That’s the difference. They’ve made plays http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-nick-leddy-jersey , we haven’t. And it’s cost us,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.”We’ve just played tentative and a little bit slow. We didn’t get 113 points by playing that way. We didn’t win the first two rounds by playing that way,” Cooper added. ”For some reason for two games, that’s the way we’ve played.”Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos had early power-play goals for Tampa Bay, which rebounded after falling behind on Wilson’s goal 28 seconds into the game.Smith-Pelly’s one-timer finished an odd-man rush and made it 2-2 at 2:30 of the second period. The Caps took control when Eller scored with 1:02 remaining and Kuznetsov – with assists from Ovechkin and Eller – delivered on a power play less than a minute later.Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was called for tripping Andre Burakovsky with 10 seconds left in the period. Kuznetsov scored seven seconds later to make it 4-2, the second time in the series the Caps stunned the Lightning with a power-play goal in the closing seconds of a period.Ovechkin and Connolly finished the rout with third-period goals. Braden Holtby stopped 33 of 35 shots to improve to 10-3 this postseason.”We’ve defended this entire playoffs up until these last couple of games, and that’s why we’ve had success,” Stamkos said. ”We haven’t defended with the same urgency. We’re leaving our goalie out to dry.”Ovechkin also had a goal and an assist in Washington’s 4-2 victory in Game 1.Vasilevskiy was pulled from the opener after facing 25 shots in two periods, but the Lightning didn’t pin the loss on him. Instead, they vowed to play harder in front of the young goaltender, who finished with 31 saves in Game 2.Tampa Bay benefited early from a couple of questionable penalties – Wilson for goaltender interference and T.J. Oshie for high-sticking Victor Hedman http://www.floridapanthersteamshops.com/authentic-james-reimer-jersey , when the Tampa Bay defenseman actually was struck by the puck – to score twice in just over three minutes on the power play for a 2-1 lead.Stamkos and Hedman assisted on Point’s goal at 7:08 of the first. Stamkos’ fourth goal in five games gave Tampa Bay its first lead of the series.The Lightning will have to turn the series around on the road to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2015.”We’ll prepare for the toughest game that we’ve played all season,” Stamkos said. ”It’s gut-check time. Let’s see who we really are.”NOTES: Washington’s John Carlson had two assists, giving him 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) this postseason. That’s a club record by a defenseman in one playoff year. He had been tied for the most with Kevin Hatcher (5-7-12, 1988), Scott Stevens (1-11-12, 1988) and himself (5-7-12, 2016). … Before Sunday night, the Lightning had won Game 2 of a series five consecutive times after losing Game 1. They’re 4-2 in six previous series in which they lost Game 1, with those series losses coming in the first round in 2014 against Montreal and the 2015 Stanley Cup Final against Chicago. … Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom, who took a shot from Justin Schultz off his right hand in Game 5 of Washington’s second-round series against the Penguins http://www.hurricanesshoponline.com/authentic-jeff-skinner-jersey , missed his third straight game. He took part in the morning skate on a limited basis and remains day-to-day. … Hedman has a franchise-record, seven-game point streak (eight assists). Martin St. Louis had a six-game streak in 2004.— DALLAS (AP) — Phillip Danault is scoring goals in bunches for Montreal. Jeff Petry didn’t waste much time finishing a rally in overtime against Dallas.Petry scored 14 seconds into the extra period after Danault had both Montreal goals in regulation and the Canadiens rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Stars on Monday night.Danault’s two goals, including the tying tally early in the third period, came nine days after his first career hat trick in a 4-3 overtime win at Vegas, giving him five of his seven goals this season in that span.“I think I’m taking more of the middle,” Danault said. “Taking more speed and confidence. Sometimes when you score goals it helps you with your confidence. Which it did. And my wingers are playing well with a lot of speed.”Antti Niemi stopped 45 shots against his former team in his third straight start and second win since Carey Price was sidelined with a lower-body injury. The Canadiens finished 4-2 on a season-long six-game road trip.After Max Domi won the opening faceoff of 3-on-3 overtime, Paul Byron skated up the left side and slipped the puck across the ice to Petry , who easily beat Ben Bishop for his eighth goal. Domi collected his team-leading 23rd assist.“It was a good faceoff win by Domes,” Petry said. “Anytime you can get possession in overtime is big. He gave me an outlet there and moved it across to Byron. Saw him going down the wing, and my opportunity to jump and make it a 2-on-1.”Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin were on the ice for Montreal’s winning goal in their first loss since the high-priced forwards were harshly criticized by their front office. Benn scored his team-leading 16th goal on an assist from Seguin for a 2-1 lead in the second period.Danault’s tying goal came when he collected an errant shot behind the net and stuffed the puck between Bishop’s pad and the post on a wraparound. His first-period goal for a 1-0 lead came on a loose puck just outside the crease as he was falling to the ice.Benn’s goal came on a power play after his brother, Jordie Benn http://www.hurricanesshoponline.com/authentic-justin-williams-jersey , was penalized for hooking.The Stars have split two games since expletive-laden rants to reporters against Benn and Seguin by club CEO Jim Lites. The critique that the two players on expensive long-term contracts were underperforming for a team falling short of expectations drew a rebuke from the NHL players’ union.While Seguin and Benn are still two of the top three scorers on their team, they’re not on a pace to be among the top 25 in the NHL, which they’ve been in five previous seasons together. Seguin’s assist on Benn’s goal was his team-leading 23rd.“We had our two best practices consecutively. And we’ve played well these last two games here,” Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. “We just have to keep doing it every day. That’s been the biggest challenge with our group, is being good every day.”Radek Faksa pulled Dallas even at 1-1 in the second period when he put a wrist shot over Niemi’s glove on a pass from Valeri Nichushkin, who has six assists but is still without a goal in 31 games. Bishop had 35 saves for Dallas.NOTES: It was the 20th consecutive time the Stars have played at home on New Year’s Eve. They are 12-6-2 in those games. It was Montreal’s second New Year’s Eve trip to Dallas. The previous visit was a 1-1 tie in 2003. … Stars D Connor Carrick played for the first time since Oct. 28. He’s been out with a foot injury. … Canadiens C Andrew Shaw didn’t return after the first period because of an upper-body injury.UP NEXTCanadiens: Opener of three-game homestand Thursday against Vancouver.Stars: New Jersey at home Wednesday.