Capitals Late Surge Downs Coyotes 4-1

Posted on March 25, 2017 by Jon Sorensen

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The Washington Capitals beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 Saturday night at Verizon Center. The win raised the Capitals record to 49-17-8 (106 points). The win gives the Capitals a three-point lead in the Metropolitan Division, with eight games remaining in the regular season. The Capitals next travel to Minnesota to face the Wild on Tuesday night. Puck drop is 8:00 p.m. 

Braden Holtby started in net for the Capitals.

Nate Schmidt and Taylor Chorney were once again the healthy scratches.

Caps had a 1 point lead over Columbus and Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division, coming into the game.

Tonight’s attendance was 18,506, the Capitals’ 355th consecutive sellout at Verizon Center.

QUICK NOTES

  • Alex Ovechkin is the third player in NHL history to score 30 or more goals in each of his first 12 seasons in the League. Ovechkin joins Mike Gartner (first 15 seasons) and Wayne Gretzky (13).
  • Alex Ovechkin’s power-play goal marked his 400th career power-play point. He is the 28th player in NHL history to record 400 power play points.
  • Marcus Johansson’s assist in the first period marked his career-high 48th point of the season.
  • Braden Holtby earned his franchise-record 26th home win of the season (26-6-2), passing the previous mark set by Olie Kolzig in 1999-00 (25-7-8) and himself last season (25-3-3).
  • Holtby now sits one win shy of becoming the third goaltender in NHL history to record three consecutive 40-win seasons, joining Martin Brodeur (2005-08) and Evgeni Nabokov (2007-10).
  • Nicklas Backstrom has earned 11 points in his last six games (3/14-3/25: 1g, 10a). In addition, he has earned 32 points in his last 25 games (1/31-3/25: 9g, 23a) and has recorded a point in 27 of his last 37 games (1/5-3/25: 13g, 36a).
  • 11 of Caps’ 12 forwards have at least 10 goals this season.
  • The Capitals won their 31st home game of the season, setting a new franchise record.
  • Washington leads the NHL in home wins this season and has earned a point in 25 of its last 27 home games.
  • Capitals earn a crucial sweep of the three-game homestand.
  • Game summary here: Event summary here:Faceoff summary here: TOI summary here:
  • Game photos here:

FIRST PERIOD
The Capitals struck first on a power play goal by Alex Ovechkin at the 8:31 mark of the opening frame. The goal was Ovechkin’s 30th of the season.

John Walton’s call:

The first period would come to a close with the Caps hanging on to a 1-0 lead. The Capitals outshot the Coyotes 12-3 for the opening frame. Arizona went over 10 minutes without a 5v5 shot attempt in the middle of the first period. The Capitals lead 25-7 in the shot attempts.

SECOND PERIOD
The Capitals continued to fire at will but could not notch another tally in the second period. The game remained 1-0 after two periods of play. The Capitals outshot the Coyotes 14-11 for the second period, and 26-14 through two periods of play. Shot attempts were 56-27 (and 38-23 at evens) for the Capitals through 40.

THIRD PERIOD
The Coyotes would tie the game late with a break away goal by Peter Holland at 12:29 of the final frame.

Daniel Winnik would grab the lead back for the Capitals with a break away goal at 15:21 of the final frame.

John Walton’s call:

Justin Williams would stretch the Capitals lead to 3-1 at the 15:52 mark of the final frame.

John Walton’s call:

Daniel Winnik would add an empty net goal to secure the victory for the Capitals. Capitals win 4-1.

John Walton’s call:

Goodnight Arizona!:

Barry Trotz’ post-game news conference:

 

By Jon Sorensen

 

SCENES FROM VERIZON

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSFGufxjLvG/

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
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