The Washington Capitals, desperately in need of a win to keep their coin-flip playoff chances alive, played one of their most exciting and absurd regular-season games in what felt like a decade.
“That was probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing,” Hendrix Lapierre said perfectly summing up the night to Monumental Sports Network.
Led by Sonny Milano’s first career hat trick, the Capitals came back three different times against one of the NHL’s best teams, the Carolina Hurricanes. And it was against a Canes team that was highly motivated. With a win, the Hurricanes could have grabbed first place in the Eastern Conference. Evgeny Kuznetsov was also playing his homecoming game against his former mates.
Instead, like they’ve done most of the year, those plucky Capitals did just enough to edge out a victory as The Hustle blared over the loudspeakers three different times. The Capitals got goals from Alex Ovechkin (the 846th of his career), John Carlson, and Connor McMichael. But it was the Son Man’s three goals, utilizing his skill, stick-handling ability, and overdue luck, that got the Caps a standings point in regulation and eventually a second in the shootout.
“It’s obviously pretty special for me,” Milano said. “I didn’t know if I was ever going to get [a hat trick]. I’m pretty happy with that, especially in a big game like this.”
Milano’s first tally came 12:45 into the first period to tie the game 1-1. After grabbing a puck behind the net, he noticed Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov looking the other way and flipped the puck past him on his backhand.
Milano’s second goal showed off his incredible hand-eye coordination. After an offensive zone faceoff, the Capitals forward found the puck at his skates and juggled the puck over Kochetkov’s head and into the net.
“It was a great play,” Spencer Carbery said. “It was a scripted play. Stromer’s pushing through there. He throws it on his back to get the puck into Sonny. And then obviously Sonny does the rest with his hand-eye.”
The goal gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead 14:40 into the second period.
“What happened was what I was trying to do,” Milano said postgame. “[The puck-juggling] was just like pretty natural at this point because I practice so much. Once I saw the rolling puck that was just my decision.”
“If you’ve followed Sonny Milano, he’s been doing that since he was a kid,” Carbery added. “YouTube videos, the whole deal. We’ll see it every once in a while in practice, he’ll pull off something like that or be off on the side doing (crazy stuff). From being around him, we get a real good view of his hand-eye coordination and what he’s capable of with the puck in those spots.”
Milano’s hat trick came in the final stanza to make it 5-4 Caps with 11:41 remaining in the third. Skating the puck into the slot, he sent a snap shot that bounced off a Canes defender and in.
The goal was initially ruled Milano’s, then Max Pacioretty’s, and then Milano’s again. Minutes later, goal judges settled on Milano, and PA announcer Wes Johnson announced the hat trick, beginning a delayed throwing of hats from the Caps crowd.
SONMAN HAT TRICK pic.twitter.com/cYZhpcPap8
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 23, 2024
“I thought, especially early on when we were searching for it a bit and we hadn’t gotten into the game quite yet, I think him stepping up with those goals early on, I think sort of calmed us a little bit,” Carbery said. “‘Okay, okay we’re going to find a way tonight.'”
Dylan Strome would go on to score the decisive goal in the fifth round of the shootout for sudden victory. The Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho matched Milano with his own hat trick in the game.
The hat trick gave Milano 9 goals in his last 15 games. During this hot stretch, he also had a five-game goal streak — a feat no Capitals player not named Alex Ovechkin has done since 2018.
“Yeah it was a lot of fun,” Milano said. “It started off not great, but we woke up and started putting the puck in the net so it was a really fun game to be a part of.
“We were missing some of our leaders and best players. Some of our guys had to step up and good team effort.”
Get this man a big hat#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/xSmrgkzLaH
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 23, 2024
After the game, Carbery praised his group for finding a way to win.
“Johnny (John Carlson), what’d you say when we’re about to walk out for the third period? Can’t remember?” Carbery said. “You go, ‘we’re winning this f***ing game. We’re winning this f***ing game.’ And another example of what this group is capable of and the emotional swings that that game was and what was at stake and how bad we needed two points in that game.
“Unbelievable f***ing job once again from this group.”
He then gave a gift to Milano: his three goal pucks.
“Good game boys,” Milano said. “It was fun. See you Sunday.”
