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The Colorado Avalanche really poured it on in the third period against a seemingly weary Caps team, but the early offense was simply too much for the Avalanche to overcome, as the Caps walked away with a 5-3 win.
- Plus: The Caps managed to gain/maintain their divisional lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins. At this point, that is the primary “plus” from every game.
- Minus: For the Avalanche’s third goal of the game, Nathan MacKinnon undressed Dmitry Orlov and Matt Niskanen. It wasn’t pretty to see.
And now, this…
Kuzy’s finish is great, but this pass from Jojo… #CapsAvs #RocKTheRed pic.twitter.com/rEglCuIc1F
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 30, 2017
Ten more notes on the game:
- John Carlson opened the scoring with a goal four minutes into the game. It was Carlson’s ninth of the year. Carlson has struggled a bit offensively this year. His 5.3 shooting percentage is his lowest success rate in the last three years.
- The Capitals have now outscored opponents 80 to 36 in the first period.
- Mikko Rantanen would tie it just over seven minutes later, however, the fourth line would retake the lead just 37 seconds later. Tom Wilson pass deflected off of an Avalanche skate, which bounced directly back to Kevin Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk instinctively drilled it, the puck deflected off of Jay Beagle for the Caps’ second goal of the game. Beagle”s 13th goal of the season is just two away from Chuck Gormley’s 15-goal prediction for Beagle in 2013.
- The Caps are now 11-0-0 when Beagle scores a goal this season.
- The third goal came in similar fashion to the second, off of a Shattenkirk blast, but this one bounced off of Marcus Johansson on the power play. The power play goal was the Capitals’ ninth power play goal in their last five games.
- Shattenkirk”s 53 points this season is well beyond his previous career-high of 45 points in the 2013-14 season with the Blues. In 13 games with the Capitals, Shattenkirk has 11 points, .16 points per game more than he had with the Blues this season.
- 11 minutes into the second, the Caps would add another on a two-on-one opportunity between Johansson and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov put it in the net, and it marked Johansson’s second point of the game. Johansson, in the midst of a career year, has eight points in his last four games.
- The Avalanche seemed to gain a little momentum in the third period after the MacKinnon goal. A Brooks Orpik penalty really put the Caps on their heels, but they crucially killed the power play.
- Lars Eller scored the empty netter to seal the deal. That was Eller’s first goal since Feb. 7.
- That’s the sixth-straight win for Washington.
That win marked the 109th and 110th point of the season. That means the Capitals are still the No. 1 team in the NHL.
Game highlights: