Tampa Bay Lightning secured their first win of the NHL season with a 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Andrei Vasilevskiy, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, made 19 saves in his 600th career game, helping the Lightning rebound after a 5-1 loss in their season opener against the New York Rangers on Thursday.

Tampa Bay took an early lead when Charle-Edouard D’Astous scored just over two minutes into the game. D’Astous received a pass from Brandon Hagel before wristing a shot past Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren. Conor Geekie extended the lead to 2-0 late in the first period, capitalizing on another pass from Hagel for a quick shot inside the post.

The Capitals responded in the second period with a goal from Justin Sourdif, who redirected a point shot from defenseman Jacob Chychurn to cut the deficit. Washington, who had opened their weekend with a road victory against the Carolina Hurricanes, was hindered by the absence of defenseman Matt Roy in the final period due to a lower-body injury sustained earlier in the game.

Jake Guentzel sealed the win for Tampa Bay with a late empty-net goal, also contributing an assist. His scoring marked an important contribution alongside Hagel, who recorded two assists. Notably, Tampa Bay defenseman John Carlson, who spent 17 seasons with Washington, made his first appearance against his former team and registered an assist on the empty-net goal.

For the Capitals, Lindgren finished with 27 saves, while Dylan Strome marked his 600th NHL game during the matchup. Washington’s loss put them at a disadvantage in their back-to-back weekend series.

With the victory, Tampa Bay improved to a 1-1 record on the season, evening their early performance after the initial defeat. Washington, meanwhile, fell to 1-1 following their split weekend series. The Lightning will look to build on this momentum as they continue the regular season, while the Capitals aim to regroup and recover key players ahead of upcoming games.