Capitals Down Ducks, 4-3 (SO)

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Jon Sorensen
Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals downed the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3 in the shootout Monday night at Capital One Arena. The victory improves the Capitals record to 16-4-6 (38 points) on the season. They remain atop the Metropolitan Division, three points ahead of the New York Rangers.

The Capitals struck first with a goal from Tom Wilson, his 100th career NHL goal, just past the midway point of the first frame and held the 1-0 lead at the first intermission.

The Ducks would tie the game just nine seconds into the middle frame, but the Capitals would quickly answer on Carl Hagelin’s first goal of the season to reinstate the one goal lead. However, the Ducks would answer with two goals late in the middle frame for a 3-2 lead late in the period. The Capitals would answer with 21 seconds left in the middle frame on a goal from John Carlson for a 3-3 tie at the second intermission.

After a scoreless final frame and scoreless overtime period, John Carlson would win it for the Capitals in the shootout.

STATS

STARTERS

Ilya Samsonov (10-1-0-1, 2.39 GAA, .917 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Capitals. John Gibson (10-6-0-3, 2.68 GAA, .915 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Ducks. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Scratches: Nic Dowd (COVID-19 protocol), Trevor van Riemsdyk (COVID-19 protocol), Garnet Hathaway (COVID-19 protocol), Nicklas Backstrom (hip ), Anthony Mantha (Upper-body), Dennis Cholowski.

FIRST PERIOD

The Capitals notched the game’s first tally just past the halfway point of the first period. Tom Wilson (9) would net his 100th career NHL goal at 13:34 of the first frame. Justin Schultz (3) and Alex Ovechkin (20) had the helpers.

The period would end with the Capitals leading 1-0. The Capitals led in shot attempts 24-16 for the first frame. They led in high-danger chances 8-2.

SECOND PERIOD

The Ducks tied the game just nine second into the middle frame. Josh Manson (3) potted the tying tally at 0:09 of the period. Sonny Milano (12) and Trevor Zegras (14) had the assists.

The Capitals would quickly regain the lead with a tally from Carl Hagelin (1) at 3:58 of the middle frame. Lars Eller (8) and T.J. Oshie (4) had the assists.

The Ducks would tie the game late in the period with a tally from Sonny Milano (7) at 13:35 of the middle frame. Trevor Zegras (15) and Rikard Rickell (3) had the helpers.

The Ducks would grab their first lead of the game with a goal from Vinni Lettieri (3) at 15:29 of the second period. Cam Fowler (11) and Troy Terry (11) had the lone assist.

The Capitals would tie the game with a goal from John Carlson (6) with 21 second left in the period. Alex Ovechkin had the lone assist.

The period would concluded with the game tied 3-3. Shot attempts were tied 16-16 in the middle frame. Both teams were 0 for 1 on the power play after the first 40 minutes.

THIRD PERIOD

The Capitals and Ducks skated to a scoreless draw in the final frame.

OVERTIME/SHOOTOUT

After a scoreless overtime period, the Capitals would win it in the shootout. John Carlson would notch the game-winner.

The Capitals are back in action on Friday when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena.

SHAVINGS

  • John Carlson scored in the shootout to give the Capitals a 4-3 win. It marks Carlson’s second career game-deciding shootout goal.
  • The Capitals improve to 9-1-4 at home this season this season (.786 point percentage). Washington is one of three teams in the NHL with just one regulation loss at home (Florida Panthers and New York Rangers).
  • John Carlson tied the game 3-3 with his sixth goal of the season. He now has six points in his last six games (2g, 4a).
  • The Capitals have 23 players with a goal this season, already more goal scorers they had in 2020-21 and the second most in the NHL (Vegas: 24 goal scorers).
  • Lars Eller picked up the primary assist on Hagelin’s goal. He is now tied with Mikkel Boedker (327) for second on the all-time Danish points list.
  • T.J. Oshie picked up an assist, his first point since returning from injury on Dec. 4 and his eighth point (4g, 4a) in 10 games this season.
  • Alex Ovechkin recorded the second assist on Wilson’s goal, his 20th assist and 40th point of the season. Ovechkin is now 10 assists shy of passing Sergei Zubov (619) for the third most assists by a Russian born player in NHL history.
  • Tom Wilson gave the Caps a 1-0 lead with his ninth goal of the season. That marks his 100th career goal.

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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2 Responses to Capitals Down Ducks, 4-3 (SO)

  1. Jon Sorensen says:
    December 6, 2021 at 10:37 pm

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    December 6, 2021 at 10:38 pm

    It’s about damn time we take home the second point in extended time. Solid effort against a good team.

    Reply

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