The Washington Capitals fell to the Anaheim Ducks, who entered the game with a 3-16-4 record in their last 20 games heading into the game, by a score of 5-2 on Sunday night at Honda Center. The loss dropped the Capitals to a record of 1-2-0 on their current season-long six-game road trip and left them still five points of the New York Islanders for first place in the Metro Division. They now have a two-point cushion on the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have played the same amount of games as the Capitals this season, and Columbus Blue Jackets, who enter Monday with two games in hand on the Capitals and Penguins. Goaltender Braden Holtby made 34 saves in the loss.
Capitals Lines at Ducks
The Capitals made no lineup changes from their dominant 5-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
The Ducks, who entered tonight with a total of nine goals in their past nine games, retired legend Scott Niedermayer’s jersey prior to the game.
#27Forever pic.twitter.com/lZYDLLCxO7
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) February 18, 2019
Goaltender Ryan Miller started for Anaheim. He entered the game with 374 career wins, tied with John Vanbiesbrouck for the most wins all-time from American goaltenders.
First Period
Captain Alex Ovechkin blasted his 40th goal of the season from his office with a second remaining on a Capitals’ power-play to make it 1-0 4:58 into the game. It marked the 10th time he has reached 40 goals in a single season. Only Wayne Gretzky (12), Marcel Dionne and Mario Lemieux (10 each) have hit the 40-goal mark at least 10 times in NHL history.
Forty. Freaking. Goals. #ALLCAPS @Ovi8 pic.twitter.com/wwwQPc0rYd
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 18, 2019
The Capitals had four giveaways while the Ducks had six in the first.
The Ducks led 16-8 in shots, 9-6 in hits, 7-4 in blocked shots, and 2-0 in takeaways after 20 minutes of action. They won 65% of the draws in the period.
Each team went 0-for-1 on the power-play in the first frame.
Second Period
Center Adam Henrique deflected defenseman’s Brendan Montour shot from the point in the slot off of the ensuing faceoff to tie the game 6:26 into the second.
Forward Jakob Silfverberg finished off a give-and-go with forward Adam Henrique at the doorstep with 5:53 left in the second off of a defensive breakdown by the Capitals to make it 2-1.
Forward T.J. Oshie left the game with an upper-body injury after playing a total of 7:10 worth of ice time.
Defenseman John Carlson let one go from the point and the puck found the back of the net through a maze of players to tie the game with 2:59 left in the period.
CROSSBAR AND IN! @JohnCarlson74 pic.twitter.com/PNFWR0Aq30
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 18, 2019
The Capitals led 5-4 in takeaways through two. In the first two periods, they went 0-for-2 on the power-play.
The Ducks led 25-17 in shots, 18-15 in hits, 13-9 in blocked shots, and had eight giveaways while the Caps had nine. They won 78% of the faceoffs in the first two periods. They went 0-for-1 on the power-play in the opening 40 minutes.
Each team posted nine shots on goal in the second period.
Third Period
Henrique finished off a mad scramble in front of Holtby on the second opportunity on the power-play 37 seconds into the period to give Anaheim the 3-2 lead.
Forward Corey Perry finished off a cross-ice passing play from the left dot after defenseman Cam Fowler fed him from the other dot on the power-play. The Ducks would take the 4-2 lead 3:40 into the third.
Silfverberg knocked the water bottle off of the net with a snipe from the slot to make it 5-2 with 5:05 left. It was his second goal of the game.
The Capitals led 27-21 in hits. They went 0-for-3 on the power-play.
The Ducks led 39-25 in shots, including 14-8 in the final frame, 7-6 in takeaways, and 20-17 in blocked shots. They won 70% of the faceoffs. Anaheim went 2-for-4 on the power-play and had nine giveaways while the Capitals had 13.
The Capitals continue their road trip tomorrow night when they visit the Los Angeles Kings. Action from Staples Center can be seen on NBC Sports Washington starting at 10:30 PM ET.
By Harrison Brown