First Period Power: Capitals’ Wilson, Carlson Score Power-Play Goals, van Riemsdyk Nets First of the Season Friday Night vs. Stars

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Della Young
Screencap: @Capitals

It may be hard to believe, but the Washington Capitals scored on two power-play chances during Friday’s clash against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center. Right-wing Tom Wilson and defenseman John Carlson gave the visiting team an early first-period lead on the man advantage. Moments later, defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk picked up his first goal of the season.

Wilson (13) opened the scoring 89 seconds into the period and gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead. Centers Nicklas Backstrom (8) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (29) assisted.

It marked Wilson’s third power-play goal this season. Additionally, it was the Capitals’  first shot of the game.

Carlson (9) extended the lead, 2-0, at the 7:54 mark. Centers Evgeny Kuznetsov (30) and Nicklas Backstrom (9) assisted.

Carlson passed Bengt Gustafsson (554) for the seventh-most points in franchise history, and he’s now two points shy of passing Dale Hunter (556) for the sixth-most points in franchise history.

With the assist, Backstrom is now eight points shy of becoming the second player in franchise history to record 1,000 career points (260g, 730a).

Kuznetsov picked up his his 11th multi-point game of the season. Kuznetsov’s 14 power-play points (2g, 12a) rank first on the Capitals.

But the Capitals weren’t done. Although it was not on a power-play, van Riemsdyk (1) scored his first goal of the season and gave Washington a 3-0 lead at the 13:08 mark. Centers Connor McMichael (8) and Joe Snively (2) had the helpers.

van Riemsdyk has recorded three points (1g, 2a) in his last five games.

By Della Young

About Della Young

Della Young is an aspiring novelist and screenwriter who earned a BFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail University in 2021. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Screenwriting from Regent University. Della comes from a family of big Capitals fans and became inspired to start writing for hockey in 2019. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and working on both sides of the camera. Follow Della on Twitter: @dellayoung
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2 Responses to First Period Power: Capitals’ Wilson, Carlson Score Power-Play Goals, van Riemsdyk Nets First of the Season Friday Night vs. Stars

  1. DC Scappeli says:
    January 28, 2022 at 11:50 pm

    Forsythe is still not off the hot seat, IMO….but glad they showed some different looks, had more movement on the PP. But where the heck was this effort and focus the entire month?

    Reply
    • Jon Sorensen says:
      January 29, 2022 at 2:22 am

      Agreed, he is a long way from being off the hot seat. When the Capitals return to the top half of the league or better in PP percentage, than his seat will start to cool.

      Reply

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