Washington Capitals right wing Troy Brouwer, left, celebrates his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning with teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov, right, during the third period on Tuesday night’s 5-3 victory. (Chris O'meara/AP)

For the eighth time this season, the Tampa Bay Lightning trailed entering the second intermission Tuesday night at Amalie Arena. Despite boasting the Eastern Conference’s best home record, they hadn’t won a game in which they were behind that late, a streak the Washington Capitals eventually upheld.

Washington’s 5-3 victory , powered by forward Alex Ovechkin’s two goals and a stout effort from goaltender Braden Holtby, frustrated Tampa Bay. But it also underscored growth on the opposite bench as the Capitals learn to handle playing ahead.

“It’s a fine line,” defenseman Brooks Orpik said. “If we get another goal, great. I think you want to stay aggressive, wear teams down. Playing not to lose, that doesn’t get you anywhere.”

This season, its first under Coach Barry Trotz, Washington has spent just 23.1 percent of its even-strength ice time behind, up from last season’s 32.4 percent.

With this adjustment has come growing pains. The Capitals withstood heart-pounding sequences at the end of the first period and the start of the third, trapped inside their defensive zone as Holtby made 33 saves .

Washington has blown third-period leads and ultimately lost three times this season, the last Nov. 4. But its winning percentage when it leads after two periods is .800, tied for 18th in the league with the snakebitten New York Islanders, who have lost their past two games in that manner.

“Especially in the third period, we have a lead in the third period, we’re a little more passive, I think, and we shouldn’t be,” center Nicklas Backstrom said. “The hardest thing for the opponent, I think, is when the other team has a lead and is still aggressive. That makes it even harder for the team. That’s something we’ve got to get better at, for sure.”

When they are ahead, the Capitals attempt just 43.8 percent of even-strength unblocked shots, according to stats.hockeyanalysis.com, down from 50.5 percent when they are trailing and 46.7 percent when they are tied. Of course, most teams ramp up their intensity when desperate for goals.

Washington is trying to learn the art of the counterpunch.

“I think if you watch us, there’s a clear difference how we play when we’re down by a goal or up by a goal, and it’s probably not very close,” Orpik said. “It’s something you just got to get used to. I think if you look at those teams, those teams are consistently in the playoffs. They have a lot of experience together, and they’ve been through that together. It’s just something you want to correct as quickly as possible, but you’ve got to go through it. You can’t just talk about it and watch it on video. It’s not that easy.”

For now, though, Orpik said studying tape was necessary but focused on communication as “the biggest thing.”

When someone was trapped in the corner or hemmed there with opposing skaters barreling toward him, Orpik said, he noticed a tendency to panic and “just [whack] the puck away.”

“A lot of times you’re dumping it out of your zone, but you’re giving the puck right back. You’re just hanging on, and that’s not a great way to play,” Orpik said. “Teams are good enough where you give them that many chances, they’re going to capitalize.”

Tampa Bay was unable to, in large part thanks to Holtby and a penalty kill that squelched three chances during the second period. The Lightning twice turned one-goal deficits into ties but went scoreless for 39 minutes 9 seconds between Steven Stamkos’s laser that made it 2-2 and Valtteri Filppula’s garbage-time score with less than four seconds left. So the Capitals flew home with their third straight road win, as well as another sign of progress in leading with comfort.

“It’s just a mind-set of continuing to push forward,” Trotz said. “Every team in every sport, when they’re down, they’re always going to have a push, and it’s how you manage those storms of that team when they’re coming at you. How you manage it is the real key.

“If you don’t survive it and they grab the momentum, you’ve got to get the momentum back. That’s just recognizing key moments in games where you can have an influence on them. If a team storms you, which you know they’re probably going to do, if you manage it well, then you’ve got to put them under a little bit of duress.”