Capitals Strike Stars Thanks to Burakovsky’s Two-Goal Night

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Harrison Brown

Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals started their three-game road trip with a 4-3 overtime victory against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center. T.J. Oshie returned from a concussion, which sidelined him for seven games. Devante Smith-Pelly drew out of the lineup with Oshie returning. The Stars extended their point streak against the Capitals to 16 games. 

 Capitals’ Lineup against the Stars:

First Period

Scoring: Andre Burakovsky scored his second goal of the year, taking a Brett Connolly pass through a Stars’ defenseman’s legs. Burakovsky held the puck for a second and ripped it to the left post past goaltender Ben Bishop 10:35 into the first period.

Dallas tied the game on a Jamie Benn deflection of a point shot from defenseman John Klingberg just three seconds into the Stars’ first power play.

The Good: Andre Burakovsky scored his first goal since returning from hand surgery which kept him out for 20 games. The Capitals led in hits 13-7 and Tom Wilson stood up to Stars’ winger Antione Roussel after Roussel hit T.J. Oshie after a whistle and then fought Jakub Vrana, who took exception to the late hit. The Capitals struck first for the 13th time in the last 15 games.

The Bad: The Stars led in shots 11-9 and 8-4 in blocked shots through 20 minutes. The Capitals led in giveaways 4-2 through one period of play. Wilson got an extra two-minute penalty for continuing to fight Roussel after both players fell to the ice.

The Ugly: The Capitals struggled to set their power-play up and gave up a goal on their lone penalty kill of the period.

Second Period

Scoring: Gemel Smith picked up his own rebound in front of the net and went backhand to forehand to beat Holtby for Dallas’ first lead of the night at 11:09 of the period.

Dmitry Orlov made a move that is sure to challenge the Ducks’ Adam Henrique’s tally last night for goal of the week. Orlov passed the puck through his own legs, beat John Klingberg, and shot high glove on Bishop to tie the game. The goal was Orlov’s fourth of the year to tie the game just 2:03 after Gemel Smith scored.

The Good: Orlov’s score will compete for goal of the year from a defenseman. Orlov’s goal marked the 68th point by a Capitals’ defenseman this season, their 53rd over the last 25 games. The Capitals led in blocked shots 16-10 and in hits 20-12.

The Bad: The Capitals were 0 for 3 on the power play through two periods and took three penalties through the second period. They trailed in shots 25-14 after 40 minutes.

The Ugly: The refs have been terrible, calling ticky-tack infractions while allowing scrums to develop after close plays. The Capitals had only nine even strength shots through two periods, though they scored on two of them. They were outshot 14-5 in the second period alone.

Third Period

Scoring: Alexander Radulov ripped a shot past Holtby with 4:07 for his 12 of the year blocker side past Holtby to give the Stars a 3-2 lead.

Brett Connolly answered with 3:26 left taking a pass from Andre Burakovsky from behind the net and wristing one from the slot to tie the game at three.

The Good: The Capitals outshot the Stars 12-10 in the third period and killed off a Tom Wilson slashing penalty against Jason Spezza. They were 3/4 on the penalty kill tonight. They led in hits 24-19 and in blocked shots 21-14. Connolly’s goal was a great response just 41 seconds after Radulov took the lead. Burakovsky registered an assist for his second point of the game.

The Bad: The Capitals failed to score on three power-play opportunities against the Stars.

The Ugly: The top-six combined for one point, an assist from Nicklas Backstrom on Orlov’s goal.

Overtime

Andre Burakovsky scored his second of the game in overtime for his second of the game to give the Capitals their fourth straight win. He took a feed from John Carlson to roof it near the right post on Ben Bishop. The Capitals took an advantage of bad defensive coverage by the Stars. The goal marked Burakovsky’s first career OTGWG.

Braden Holtby made 33 saves on 36 shots for his first career win against Dallas.

The Capitals still have not won in regulation in Dallas since 1995.

Stats

Shots:                  Capitals – 28                     Stars – 36

Hits:                    Capitals – 24                     Stars – 19

Power Play:       Capitals – 0/3                     Stars – 1/4

Blocked Shots:  Capitals – 21                     Stars – 15

Up Next

The Capitals start a weekend set of back-to-backs with a date in the desert with the Arizona Coyotes. These two teams met earlier this season with the Capitals beating Arizona 3-2 in overtime. The Coyotes are currently last in the west with 19 points (7-23-5 record), 13 points behind the Edmonton Oilers for 14th place in the conference. Puck drop is at 9 PM on NBC Sports Washington.

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077
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