It didn't take long for the Lightning to strike in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Cedric Paquette took a nifty feed from Ryan Callahan and fired a shot past Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby to give the home team a 1-0 lead over Washington just 19 seconds into regulation.
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🚨 19. SECONDS. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Fj7zjr2LgC
— Sporting News NHL (@sn_nhl) May 19, 2018
Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov got caught pinching off the opening faceoff, leading to the play.
Paquette's first goal of the postseason fell six seconds shy of the franchise record for the fastest goal to begin a playoff contest. That mark was set by former Lightning winger Adam Hall, who scored 13 seconds into Game 2 of the 2011 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Bruins.
Don Kozak holds the all-time NHL record for fastest postseason goal, scoring six seconds into Game 4 of 1977 quarterfinals, also against the Bruins.