The Lightning have pushed the Capitals to the edge of the cliff.

With the series returning to Florida and the St. Pete Times Forum on Tuesday night, it was an incredible opportunity for the Lightning to put their foot on the throat of the Washington Capitals. And that is exactly what happened with the help of a third-period comeback that saw the Lightning win 4-3.

“I thought our game got away from us a little bit in the second,” Lightning forward Ryan Malone said. “We did a good job in the third on getting on our game again and getting the puck to the net.”

There were plenty of heroes on this night. There was Sean Bergenheim, who continued his offensive run through this postseason. There was Vincent Lecavalier, who scored a key goal to give the Lightning back the momentum midway through the second period. Then there was Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone putting it away in the third. In other words, much like it has been all year, it was a true team effort.

The Lightning struck first just past the midway point of the first period when Steve Downie stole a pass at the blue line. Downie sent Dominic Moore in on a two-on-one break with Bergenheim. Moore fed Bergenheim the puck and he beat Washington goalie Michal Neuvirth for his fifth goal of the postseason.

This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2011.