Victor Hedman scored his first goal of the playoffs and added two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves to help Tampa Bay beat the Capitals 4-2 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final and cut their series deficit to 2-1.
Hedman also assisted on power-play goals by Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov.
Vasilevskiy was on top of his game as the Capitals put 38 shots on net.
Tampa Bay got two injury scares in the third period when Stamkos hobbled off after taking a slap shot from teammate Braydon Coburn in the right knee and Tyler Johnson was cross-checked by Michal Kempny.
Stamkos and Johnson each returned minutes later to a game that included nastiness after whistles throughout.