On Thanksgiving Eve at Verizon Center, the Capitals played host to the St. Louis Blues and the organization went all out to celebrate the impeding holiday. Alex Ovechkin got out his figurative carving knife and feasted on the average goaltending in net. And all-throughout the night, the Caps transformed their intermission activities into a celebration of America’s second favorite bird.
On a night where Alex Ovechkin scored a hat trick and six of the game’s seven goals were scored by Russians, of course the prettiest play of the evening came from a pair of comrades.
6:31 into the third period, Caps defenseman Dmitry Orlov carried the puck into the offensive zone and surged ahead of a surprised Jay Bouwmeester. As Evgeny Kuznetsov drove hard to the net, Orlov hit the center with a breathtaking backhanded pass, which the Chelyabinsk native tapped home for his third goal of the season.
Alex Ovechkin tallied his 16th career hat trick Wednesday in one of those legendary Ovechkin games you’ll never forget. During a postgame interview on the bench, CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Al Koken asked Ovechkin how he would celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.
And the response was classic Ovechkin.
Alex Ovechkin will have a very Happy (American) Thanksgiving with his video game console tomorrow. The Russian machine scored his 16th career hat trick on Thanksgiving eve, feasting on Carter Hutton’s merely average goaltending.
Let me set the scene. Ovechkin tallied a power play goal in the first period and a one-time goal in the second. In the third, Ovechkin raced up the ice after a Caps’ faceoff loss, and boomeranged a wrist shot past Hutton to complete the trick.
Let the hats fly!
The Caps beat St. Louis in a much more entertaining fixture than their last. It was a very good game against a very good team (let’s just forget about those last few minutes).
The scoring opened with a dart from Russian forward Alex Ovechkin that gave the Caps a 1-0 lead late in the first. That was all we had after one. Russian forward Ovechkin scored again 5v5 this time with a blast past Carter Hutton. Russian forward Vladimir Tarasenko immediately responded less than a minute later for the Blues making the score 2-1 and the period closed with that scoreline. Russian center Evgeny Kuznetsov made it 3-1 off a fantastic feed from Russian defenseman Dmitry Orlov. Russian forward Ovechkin finished off his hat trick soon after to make it 4-1. Not-Russian Alex Pietrangelo scored a garbage time power play goal to make it 4-2. Russian forward Tarasneko added one with the goalie pulled.
Caps beat Blues 4-3. That was gr8.
By Chris Cerullo 7 years ago
With 2:32 left in the first period, Alex Ovechkin did what he’s done so many times before: score an power play goal from his office. The Russian machine ripped a wrist shot off Blues goaltender Carter Hutton and in.
The power play marker was Ovi’s tenth of the season and puts him one-goal away from an exclusive list.
Tonight the Caps are facing the St. Louis Blues, who are looking pretty great.
The Blues are neck-in-neck with Capitals in the NHL standings, and are trying to extend a hot streak. They’re coming off of a win over the Boston Bruins last night, so the Capitals are (hopefully) going to look like the more energized team. But check out this stat. In their past eight back-to-back series games, the Blues have won a ridiculous seven of eight. The Blues are also 4-1 in their last five road games, so being in the Verizon Center tonight might not phase them much. Are the Capitals the better team? Skill-wise, probably, but this is going to be a tough game.
Puck drop is at 7:00pm on CSN, folks. Buckle up.
| Team | Record | Possession | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
| St. Louis Blues | 11-6-3 | 53.39% | 99.2 | 20.6% | 88.8% |
| Washington Capitals | 11-5-2 | 53.51% | 100.9 | 15.4% | 81.8% |
By Elyse Bailey 7 years ago
Tonight the Caps are facing the St. Louis Blues, who are looking pretty great.
The Blues are neck-in-neck with Capitals in the NHL standings, and are trying to extend a hot streak. They’re coming off of a win over the Boston Bruins last night, so the Capitals are (hopefully) going to look like the more energized team. But check out this stat. In their past eight back-to-back series games, the Blues have won a ridiculous seven of eight. The Blues are also 4-1 in their last five road games, so being in the Verizon Center tonight might not phase them much. Are the Capitals the better team? Skill-wise, probably, but this is going to be a tough game.
Puck drop is at 7:00pm on CSN, folks. Buckle up.
| Team | Record | Possession | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
| St. Louis Blues | 11-6-3 | 53.39% | 99.2 | 20.6% | 88.8% |
| Washington Capitals | 11-5-2 | 53.51% | 100.9 | 15.4% | 81.8% |
By Elyse Bailey 7 years ago
