Photo: Bill Wippert
Congratulations Caps fans, we’ve all made it through another “Capitals” off-season. Luckily, we’re in mid-September and the World Cup of Hockey is underway, while our Rookies take to the ice this weekend and the NHL pre-season is just around the corner! I’ve taken you with me on a journey where I’ve counted down my favorite moments from the 2015-2016 season, and now it’s time for the encore presentation.
Holtby’s Historic Night | April 9, 2016
This historic night took place on the second to last evening of the regular season, Saturday April 9th when the Caps traveled to St. Louis to take on the Blues. This was also T.J. Oshie’s first trip back to St. Louis since being traded to the Capitals. The Caps not only defeated the Blues 5-1, but also notched a few milestones and historical moments. Alex Ovechkin got a hat trick that also included his 50th goal of the season and Braden Holtby tied Martin Broudeur’s single season record of 48 wins with the victory.
The best player on the Blues, Vladimir Tarasenko got the contest’s first goal just 1:15 into the game. Ovechkin tied it on the first of his three goals with a great pass by John Carlson. The goal came at 4:04. The Caps took the lead at 6:49 with Ovechkin’s second of the night, which came off the faceoff.
Carlson put the Caps up 3-1 in the second period with a backhand goal that was assisted by Tom Wilson at 5:21. Jason Chimera put the Caps up 4-1 off of a no-look pass by Evgeny Kuznetsov at 10:56.
At 10:35 in the third period, Alex Ovechkin scored his third and final goal of the night to complete the hat trick and net his 50th goal.
Braden Holtby finished with 19 saves and the win and shared a special moment with New Jersey Devils legend Marty Brodeur. Brodeur coincidentally happened to be in attendance as he serves as assistant general manager to the Blues.
As we look back at his historic moment in Capitals’ history, NoVa Caps also wants to wish the Holtbeast the happiest of birthdays as he celebrates his 27th today, Friday, September 16th!
If you’d like to look back at our Top 10 list, you can by clicking below:
Number 10
Number 9
Number 8
Number 7
Number 6
Number 5
Number 4
Number 3
Number 2
Number 1
Thank you for checking back with us each week as we counted down my favorite Top 10 Moments of this past season. Now, it’s time to get ready for what will likely be a very exciting 2016-2017 season for our Caps!
By Michael Marzzacco
