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The Washington Capitals scored in the opening minute of the game and twice in the last 1:02 of the second period to pull away to a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final.

Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller each had a goal and two assists. Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson had a goal and an assist apiece.

Devante Smith-Pelly and Brett Connolly also scored for the Caps Carlton Davis Jersey Elite , 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).

Game 3 is Tuesday night in Washington.

Braden 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 finishing an odd-man rush 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.

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was called for tripping Washington’s 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.

Ovechkin, playing in the conference final for the first time, 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 player 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, 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.

NOTES: Before Sunday night Cheap Kyzir White Jersey , 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, 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.

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Anthony Davis wasn’t willing to call the New Orleans Pelicans‘ season a success.

Not that Davis dismissed the determination, grit and growing chemistry the Pelicans showed in the way they adjusted to a season-ending injury to fellow All-Star DeMarcus Cousins.

New Orleans exceeded expectations by getting to the postseason and sweeping third-seeded Portland . Then came a second-round matchup with defending champion Golden State, and the Pelicans were reminded why bringing back a player of Cousins’ caliber could be crucial to going farther next season. The Warriors needed only five games to end New Orleans’ season.

”Any time you don’t win a championship, I don’t see how it could be successful,” Davis said. ”We can take a lot of positive things from the season. Of course, one of our main guys went out and everybody doubted us. Everybody counted us out and we were able to keep fighting Cheap Preston Brown Jersey , keep pushing as a unit and able to come this far.”

This offseason could go a long way in determining if they go any farther.

Not only is Cousins a free agent, but so is assists maestro Rajon Rondo . Further complicating matters is that Cousins’ injury – a torn Achilles – has been a historically difficult one from which to come back. So the Pelicans’ faith could be tested if Cousins declines to take less than the maximum he can get under the NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement.

Also, Rondo and Cousins are friends. Bringing back one could raise the prospects of keeping the other.

Rondo, who averaged 10.3 points, 12.2 assists and 7.6 rebounds in the postseason, asserted that bringing back Cousin will be ”very important.”

Cousins averaged 25.2 points and 12.9 rebounds in 48 games, during which New Orleans went 27-21. But the Pelicans assert that when Cousins went down, they only beginning to figure out the most effective way to play with him and Davis in the lineup together. As evidence, they pointed to the fact that they won seven of the last eight games Cousins played, including a victory at Boston and a home triumph over Houston.

”We felt like Adidas Patrik Laine Jersey , you know, we were able to play against the elite teams in the league,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. ”We felt great about it, and then he got hurt and we struggled for four or five games.”

Once the Pelicans adjusted to life without Cousins, they shot up from sixth in the NBA in pace of play to first, with Rondo pushing the ball up the court and using his precision passing to put Davis, Jrue Holiday and mid-season trade acquisition Nikola Mirotic in prime positions.

The Pelicans won their final five regular season games to finish as the sixth seed in the highly competitive Western Conference, and Gentry was informed the team was picking up his option for next season.

While Rondo couldn’t promise he’ll be back, he made it clear his affection for many on the roster grew considerably this season.

”Can’t say enough about this group – a group of men that came together and found a way to sacrifice for one another and try to come with a common goal,” Rondo said. ”I love our chemistry.”

The Pelicans played so well at times that Gentry found himself answering questions about whether the Pelicans might be better without Cousins. Gentry called that notion ”ludicrous.” He also said James Washington Game Jersey , ”It goes without saying” that the Pelicans want Cousins back.

If Cousins and Rondo both return, and team chemistry continues growing, the Pelicans could blossom into a team with the requisite combination of size and skill to punish teams like the Warriors which thrive on ”small ball.”

In any event, Davis’ ability to carry the team in Cousins’ absence only elevated his status as an elite player. He posted averages of 28.1 points, 11.1 assists and 2.6 blocks.

Meanwhile, playing more shooting guard than point guard seemed to suit Holiday, who averaged a career-best 19 points per game this season.

And for at least three more seasons, the Pelicans will have both Davis and Holiday under contract.

”We feel like we’re headed in the right direction as a franchise,” Gentry said.

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