Last night was the fifth and final game on an all-important road trip for the Washington Capitals. After a brutal start that saw them dropping the first two games in Winnipeg and Edmonton, the Caps beat both the Kraken and Canucks to bring them to 2-2 in the first four games. Keeping that momentum going was pretty vital for the Capitals to keep their playoff hopes alive, and they did that with a solid team effort that propelled them to a 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames. It wasn’t the prettiest game they’ve ever played (except for Hendrix Lapierre’s goal, because that was nuts) but it got the job done.
Three Takeaways:
- Dylan Strome found the back of the net and kicked his small scoring slump to the curb. He had gone seven games without a goal, with his last tally coming on March 1 against the Flyers. Last night’s goal was his 23rd of the season, which means Strome also tied the career high he set last season.
- Alex Ovechkin scored his 20th (and 21st) goal of the season last night, making this his 19th consecutive season with at least 20 goals. That’s good for second-most in NHL history tied with Brendan Shanahan, behind some guy named Gordie Howe. Ovi joins these two legends as the only three NHL players to ever accomplish that feat. Ovechkin has also really turned on the goal scoring lately; he has 13 goals in 21 games since January 27, and before that he had eight goals in 43 games. With career goals 842 and 843, Ovi is now 51 goals away from catching Wayne Gretzky.
- Despite losing his shutout streak, Charlie Lindgren played an incredible game last night. It was particularly noticeable in the third period, when the Flames were making a big push and the Caps were giving them way too much room. Lindgren has now allowed eight goals against in his last six games. In those six games, he has a 5-1-0 record with a 1.33 GAA and .956 SV%. Is that good? Asking for a friend.
They Said It: