The Washington Capitals really needed to win last night’s game any way they could, and their performance did not disappoint. After a four-goal outing in Montreal over the weekend, they turned the offense up even more to hang six on the New Jersey Devils. It was a complete effort from the Capitals—they kept up the offensive pressure, did not give the Devils any room to try and get back into the game, and Charlie Lindgren was stellar in net with 37 saves.
Consistent offense, or lack thereof, has been a pretty notable struggle for Washington this season. However, it seems as though playing the Devils helps them out in that regard a little. Last night was just the fourth time this season that the Caps scored at least five goals in a game, but it was the second time they have done so against the Devils—they beat New Jersey 6-4 back on October 25. After holding onto a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes last night, the Capitals floored it and scored a whopping four goals in the third period. This is the third time the Caps have tallied four goals in the final frame this season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
A post-game update on Nic Dowd: Coach Carbery was asked about his status after the game, and he said Dowd will be reevaluated today.
Three Takeaways
- Connor McMichael opened the scoring just 39 seconds in after some great playmaking from Rasmus Sandin and Aliaksei Protas, and then he doubled his goals on the night with this absolutely ridiculous highlight-reel double toe drag tally. McMichael clearly likes playing against the Devils, because he now has five goals in seven career games against New Jersey. He has five points (3G, 2A) in his last six games, and his second goal of the night was his 10th goal and 20th point of the season, which sets a new single-season career-high in goals and points [the previous highs were set in 2021-2022 (9G, 18P)]. Finally, because he really wanted to put on a show yesterday, McMichael recorded his first career multi-goal game. Have yourself a night, McMike.
- With an assist on Dylan Strome’s third period tally, Alex Ovechkin extended his point streak to nine games—that’s his first point streak of at least nine games since the 2019-2020 season. Then, for good measure, he added two goals to his scoresheet for the night. For those of you keeping track at home, that makes 13 points (8G, 5A) during this nine-game streak and 21 points (10G, 11A) in his last 18 games. Strangely enough, this was Ovechkin’s first multi-goal game since November 11; it was also the first time this season he had a multi-goal effort without an empty netter. Oh, and last night makes goals 837 and 383—watch out, Wayne!
- Mike Sgarbossa scored Washington’s fifth goal of the night, which was his first NHL tally since December 17, 2021. Sgarbossa is always incredibly reliable for the Caps whenever they call him up from Hershey, so it was nice to see him get rewarded with a goal. The icing on the cake? Fans got to hear his goal song for the first time, and he made an iconic choice: the Pirates of the Caribbean theme.
They Said It:
And another one, just for laughs: