Plus: A…Washington Capitals power play goal? A Washington Capitals power play goal! Tom Wilson finally ended more than 60 minutes of power play time without a PPG for the Caps. That was 34 power play opportunities without finding the back of the net. Rasmus Sandin fired the puck on net, and Wilson was there on the redirect. Alex Ovechkin’s assist on the tally also ends a four-game point drought for the Great 8.
Minus: Sonny Milano had a tough game. He turned the puck over on a bad attempted bank pass to Sandin, and the Ducks scored on the ensuing rush to make it 2-1 Anaheim in the first. Milano skated just two shifts in that frame, and he was benched for the rest of the first. He was back out there in the second period, but he still didn’t get much ice time.
Key Moment: Nothing can truly top the sweet, sweet relief of Capitals’ power play goals, but the Protas-McMichael-Mantha line scoring just 1:27 into the game is a good second choice. Anthony Mantha is clearly enjoying playing hockey right now, and it seems like playing alongside Connor McMichael Aliaksei Protas is keeping that going.
Caps Player of the Game: Have yourself a 700th career game, Tom Wilson. He did peak Tom Wilson things in the first period tonight: took two penalties, scored the game-tying goal on a breakaway shortly after exiting the sin bin, and then scored the Caps’ first power play goal since late October. As if all that wasn’t enough, Wilson completed the first hat trick of his career with his second power play goal of the game in the third period.
Final Thoughts: Washington’s offense has struggled this season—the team had only scored four or more goals in five of their 19 games so far. That trend went out the window tonight, as they scored four goals in the first period. That is also the most goals the Caps have scored in a single period all season.
Up next? The Caps take on the reigning Stanley Cup champs in Vegas on Saturday night, 10pm ET. Washington has yet to record a regular season win at T-Mobile Arena, but they sure did win there when it counted…