from Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times,

Turns out, this Caps team is pretty good. And, oh, you can forget all that baloney about Washington just being happy to be here. Looks as if they have some plans of their own, Stanley Cup plans that include busting through Tampa Bay to get there.

The Lightning came out flat and then got really flattened. The final score was 4-2. Don't be fooled. It wasn't that close. It was brutal loss, the kind that shakes confidences and plants doubts.

Now the good news is the Lightning has been in this spot before. Just last round, it got blown out by the Bruins in Game 1 and rallied to win the next four games. Time and time again the past few years, this group has suffered what appeared to be shattering losses only to put the pieces back together again and claw back to life.

The bad news? The Lightning isn't playing the Bruins anymore. Washington is bigger than Boston. Tougher. Scarier. Stingier on defense. Steadier in goal. More dangerous on offense.

In a word: better.

You can say it's only one game. That's true. But if felt like more than one game. It felt like a statement. It looked like a clinic.

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Catch the game highlights below.