Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images
We kicked-off our new, semi-regular “What A Rush!” feature with a beauty from Lars Eller and Tom Wilson in Thursday night’s tilt in Toronto (here). We have an all-Rusian rush for our second installment. Here’s our pick for line rush of the game from yesterday’s 6-5 overtime victory over the Rangers.
What a Rush! With under a minute remaining in overtime, Dmitry Orlov was knocked off the puck, but Alex Ovechkin would follow-up with two beautiful head-fakes from the top of the slot. The first was followed by a blast that didn’t make it past Lundqvist. The second head-fake was another beauty, which freed-up Kuznetsov for an open pass. Kuznetsov failed in an attempt to give it back to Ovechkin, but Lundquist was unable to secure the puck.
An ice-level view of the frantic and furious push from Ovechkin and Kuznetsov shows they were not going to be denied.
You didn’t make it easy, but you sure made it fun. #NHL #ALLCAPS #CapsRangers #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/jLJqDAIiCo
— Julia Goodwin (@JuliaKristine) February 24, 2019
Kuznetsov was on the goal line, but looked to have an opening for a pretty good shot, with Lundqvist down and out of position. He decided to try to force a pass back to Ovechkin, which didn’t work. The puck would trickle away from Lundquist, which led to the whack-a-mole fest and winning goal.
The radio call from John Walton on Caps Radio:
But who really got the goal? There was plenty of speculation that Alex Ovechkin actually pushed the puck across the goal line. A closer look reveals Evgeny Kuznetsov indeed got the game winner.
The Capitals yielded another two-goal lead, which is concerning. But the bottom line is getting the two points.
By Jon Sorensen
