The Washington Capitals stomped a mudhole in the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. It’s just that simple.
Goals came fast and furious: Connolly on the PP, Boyd with some fourth-line fireworks, Ovi with a goofy redirect then a good goal, Oshie chased Bernier. In the third period Dylan Larkin cracked the shutout, but Ovi responded by completing the hat trick with a powerful slapshot. Adbelkader’s forecheck set up Nyquist for a sneaky short-side goal, but that was that.
Caps win 6-2!
Six goals? Esta noche!
- TJ Oshie returned to action after his fifth (yeesh) concussion. Andre Burakovsky made space for Oshie in the lineup, and Oshie made good on the opportunity with a nifty goal in the second period to chase Detroit goalie Jonathan Bernier.
- Washington’s fourth line continues their excellence. All three forwards got involved in the first period goal, but Travis Boyd finished it. Looks like, after nearly 30 games, we’ve got the bottom-line roster fully figured out. As a trio, Boyd, Dowd, and Jaskin have been magnificent — even when they’re not scoring pretty goals like a top line.
- Alex Ovechkin recorded his 6th multi-goal game of the season. The first was a funny fluke, the second was solid, and the third was too powerful to turn away. It’s his 21st career hat trick (22 if you count the postseason) and his first since November of last year. Now, after 30 games, he sits at 25, tops in the NHL. His goals-per-game rate puts him on track for more than 60 this season. He probably won’t shoot 20 percent for the duration, but this is still the hottest he’s been at this point in any season, and he’s 33 years old, so I hope we’re all appreciating this and enjoying it.
Alex Ovechkin now has 126 career multi-goal games, passing Dino Ciccarelli for 11th-most in NHL history. He sits 1 multi-goal game shy of tying Mike Bossy and Jaromir Jagr for 9th-most all-time.
— Matt Williams (@StatsWilliams) December 12, 2018
- Dylan Larkin needed a little help from Gustav Nyquist to end Braden Holtby’s shutout bid at 22 saves. Nyquist didn’t interfere with Holtby per se, but he sure did screen him.
- Mike Green played in this game. That’s all I’ve got.
- Lest it go unmentioned, Nicky Backstrom had four assists. He’s got 38 points on the year. He’s been amazing in a classically Nicky way, which is to say, easy to overlook.
Look at these handsome devils #JoeBSuitOfTheNight pic.twitter.com/cLavet6mFn
— Peter Hassett (@peterhassett) December 12, 2018
Today marks the ninth anniversary of Russian Machine Never Breaks.
Friends, it’s been so so so much work. Thank you for being here and having fun with us. Thanks to our beloved contributors and patrons and all the loved ones who tolerate a thing that is not a hobby or a side hustle, but rather a calling — one that we take seriously and into which we have invested unspeakable sums of time and labor. It’s been worth it. We promise not to get less weird in the next nine.
See y’all on Friday as the Caps head down to North Carolina for a date with the Canes.
