Capitals Darken Stars 4-3; T.J. Oshie Scores 4th Goal in Four Games

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Jon Sorensen
Photo by Nick Wass/NHLI via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. The Stars would start the scoring with a power play goal late in the first period, but the Capitals would notch three tallies in the middle frame to make it 3-3 at the second intermission. John Carlson would regain the lead for the Capitals late in the final frame for the 4-3 win. The Capitals are back on the ice this Thursday when the visit the Red Wings in Detroit. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. 

STARTERS
Braden Holtby (30-15-4, 3.03 GAA, .906 sv%) started between the pipes for the hometown Capitals. Kari Lehtonen (12-10-3, 2.46 GAA, .913 sv%) started in net for the Stars. The Capitals starting forward lines and defensive pairs:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Burakovsky-Eller-Oshie
Vrana-Boyd-Connolly
Stephenson-Beagle-Smith-Pelly

Kempny-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-Djoos

Scratches: Alex Chiasson, Jakub Jerebek and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

FIRST PERIOD
After a choppy start, the Stars would be first to light the lamp with a goal from Tyler Seguin at 16:04 of the first period.

And that would be all of the scoring for the first period. The Capitals outshot the Stars 5-4 for the opening frame. The Capitals turned-in a rather sloppy first 20 minutes, with numerous errant passes and turnovers in their own zone. In addition, Nicklas Backstrom was called for two penalties. The Capitals were 0 for 1 and the Stars 1 for 2 on the power play.

SECOND PERIOD
After a sloppy start and another penalty, this time to Captain Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals would tie the game with a goal from T.J. Oshie at 4:07 of the middle frame. Lars Eller and Alex Ovechkin were credited with the helpers.

The Capitals would take their first lead of the game with a goal from Matt Niskanen at 5:32 of the second period. The goal was unassisted.

The Stars would tie things up with a goal from John Klingberg at 11:48 of the middle frame, making it 2-2.

Alex Ovechkin would regain the lead for the Caps with a power play goal at 13:41 of the middle frame. John Carlson and T.J. Oshie were credited with the assists.

The Stars would tie things up on the end of a Capitals turnover in the neutral zone. Jamie Benn would finish close-range and go top-shelf on Holtby at 18:15 of the middle frame.

The period would end in a 3-3 tie. The Capitals outshot the Stars 16-13 for the middle frame.

THIRD PERIOD
The Capitals and Stars would duel for a majority of the final frame without lighting the lamp. Finally, John Carlson would grab the lead for the Caps with a shot from the right circle at 15:01 of the final frame.

The Capitals would hold on for the 4-3 win.

SHAVINGS

  • The was Washington’s first home victory over Dallas since November, 2006.
  • John Carlson scored the game-winning goal, his 15th of the season and his fourth game-winning goal of the season. Carlson also recorded an assist, his 46th of the season, which ranks third among NHL defensemen. Carlson is now tied for first in the NHL in points among defensemen. Carlson was also tied for the team lead in blocked shots (3).
  • Alex Ovechkin scored his 44th goal of the year, which leads the NHL. That also marks goal No. 602, passing Jari Kurri for sole possession of 19th all-time on the NHL’s goal list.
  • Ovechkin also passes Michel Goulet to tie Bobby Hull for the 2nd most 80+ point seasons in NHL history by a player whose primary position was left wing (Most: 9- Luc Robitaille).
  • Alex Ovechkin tonight reached 80 points for the 8th time in his career- ties Peter Stastny for the 5th most such seasons by a European-born player in NHL history.
  • T.J. Oshie now has four goals in his last four games.
  • Matt Niskanen scored the Capitals’ second goal of the game. That marked his sixth goal of the season, his highest goal total since joining Washington in the 2014-15 season.
  • The Capitals scored three goals in the second period. That marked the third time in the last 12 periods that they have recorded at least three goals.
  • This was the 400th consecutive home sellout for the Capitals.
  • The NHL box score is here.

SCENES FROM THE DISTRICT

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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