The Washington Capitals had a mostly listless performance against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, falling to the Western Conference club 4-1 at Capital One Arena.
The only positive was the only goal the Capitals scored on the night. On a one-timer from the top of the left circle, Alex Ovechkin beat Casey DeSmith, recording the 915th goal of his legendary career.
The tally came shortly after a Capitals’ faceoff win. Connor McMichael’s chance was stopped, but the rebound bounced out to Jakob Chychrun, who dished to John Carlson at the point. The Capitals’ alternate captain then put the puck into Ovi’s wheelhouse for the tally.
The goal was too-little, too-late, though, as the tally came with 2:19 remaining as the Caps were trailing 3-0. They could not complete the comeback late and surrendered an empty-net goal to Roope Hintz, sealing the game.
For Ovechkin, the goal marked his 18th tally of the season, putting him on a 34-goal pace in his 21st NHL season. Ovechkin has now scored on DeSmith, a former goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins, six times in his career.
Ovechkin has scored three goals in his last two games. He has 37 points (18g, 19a) in 44 games.
