The Washington Capitals came up with yet another huge win for their postseason aspirations on Sunday afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets. Alex Ovechkin and Charlie Lindgren were again the stars of the show which is becoming the greatest broken record to listen to.
Huge game on Tuesday. Let’s go Caps.
- The Capitals played their best in the first period but were unable to dent the armor of Connor Hellebuyck in that frame or the next. I didn’t love the last forty minutes at five-on-five but they kept the game low event for the most part as you can see via the heat map, used some great finishing/luck, and Charlie Lindgren did his usual this season. The Jets seem to be a matchup nightmare for the Capitals so reversing the 3-0 defeat they handed the Caps in Winnipeg is always good to see. Luckily, they’re done with that team this season…unless both are in the Stanley Cup Final.
- Charlie Lindgren excellently bounced back from one of his worst starts this season with his fifth shutout this year. He stopped all 27 shots he faced and according to MoneyPuck stopped 2.44 more goals than expected in the win. His five shutouts are tied for the second most in the league with Thatcher Demko and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
- Alex Ovechkin scored two goals, one sorta accidentally and the other very much on purpose. After starting the 2023-24 campaign with just 8 goals in his first 43 games, Ovi has 18 in his last 24 which is over a 60-goal-season pace (61.5) over a full 82-game slate. The Great Eight notched his 25th and 26th of the season, moving him into a tie this season with names like Connor McDavid and Roope Hintz in total goals.
Since Feb. 8, the Capitals have converted on 24 of 68 power-play opportunities (35.3%), which is the highest power-play percentage in the NHL in that span.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) March 24, 2024
- Dylan Strome has points in four straight games and 15 points (2g, 13a) in 12 March games after his great assist on Ovi’s second tally. In his last 25 games, he has recorded 30 points (7g, 23a) which sees him tied with Ovechkin for the team lead in scoring at 58 total points.
- Connor McMichael is also a point-per-game player over his last seven outings (4g, 3a). The young center has already set new single-season, career highs in assists (15), goals (16) and points (31) this season.
- With the win, the Capitals jumped back over the Detroit Red Wings into the second wild card playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Washington (79 points) and Detroit (78 points) will do battle on Tuesday in DC. Need a win there but a loss won’t be the end of the world as the Capitals will still hold a game in hand on the Red Wings.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.
