The Washington Capitals continued their recent stretch of good play with a home shootout win over the New York Islanders 4-3. Ovi finally got his goal and the team got the full two points.
We love that for them.
- First things first, I thought the Caps played a very strong game at five-on-five that would have been a blowout without a ton of heroics from Semyon Varlamov in the opposing net. They took it to the Islanders with the Isles’ own game, out-scoring chancing them 27 to 17 and out-high danger chancing them 10 to 4. The team defense just had a few lapses and they were on the wrong side of a couple of close officiating calls. All in all, really happy with how that one went. Didn’t play down to a bad team.
- First NHL goal for Axel Jonsson-Fjallby in his fourteenth career game. Hopefully, that gets his confidence going and he starts being a little more aggressive individually and doesn’t defer as much as he has been to his more veteran linemates. Ninth rookie to score their first career goal for the Caps this season. Can you name them all without cheating?
- Of course, the big man also did his thing. Career goal number 767 for Alex Ovechkin as he overtakes Jaromir Jagr for third all-time in goals scored and first in goals scored by a European. Ovi gets to the mark in 477 fewer games played than Jagr. Only Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky (894) remain.
Alex Ovechkin is the only player in NHL history who has played 1,000+ career regular-season games without ever having a goal drought longer than 10 games.
More #NHLStats on his path to third on the all-time goals list: https://t.co/VOkmyFwK7Q pic.twitter.com/6xNqcmzIQ4
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 16, 2022
- I really loved the play from that third line with Connor McMichael as the new center due to Lars Eller still being stuck in Vancouver. McMichael was back in his natural position and it felt like he was more involved in the game in terms of touching the puck which I think is something a player like him feeds on. The Caps out-attempted the Isles 14 to 9, out-scoring chanced them 10 to 2, and out-high danger chanced them 4 to 0 with McMichael on the ice at five-on-five. Still having trouble finding that next goal though.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov was pretty darn magic with the puck all game. He had eight individual shot attempts, four individual scoring chances, and three individual high danger chances. The first two second to only Ovi on the team (9 and 5) and the last second to only McMichael (4).
- Vitek Vanecek with another studly performance. The Caps have won all five of Vitek’s starts in March.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.
