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The Capitals’ victory over the Nashville Predators Tuesday night marked a coaching milestone win for Head Coach Peter Laviolette. It was the 700th win of his NHL coaching career and tied him with Mike Babcock for ninth place on the All-Time list.
Laviolette’s milestone win was a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators, the team he coached prior to the Capitals. Prior to the game, the Predators held a video tribute in his honor of his time there. This tribute video also honored assistant coach Kevin McCarthy and defenseman Matt Irwin, who both used to be with the Predators.
The game itself featured two Alex Ovechkin goals, with Ovechkin’s first goal being his 30th goal of the season and marked the sixteenth time in Ovechkin’s career that he has reached the 30-goal threshold, the most times for a single team and the second most times done overall. The game also featured a Joe Snively goal, the third of the season for the Herndon, Virginia native.
“For me, the win was really good for our team. It’s been a bit of a roller coaster … you want to get back and win a hockey game,” said Laviolette following the win.
Laviolette now has a 700-455-25-137 record in 1317 career games. The Capitals under his direction have posted a 27-15-9 record in 51 games. For the Capitals overall, he has posted a 63-30-14 record in 107 games.
Already this season, he has moved past John Tortorella (673), Darryl Sutter (675), Pat Quinn (684), and Dick Irvin (691) in career wins. When he passed Tortorella, he reached first place in All Time wins by a U.S. born head coach. He has now tied Mike Babcock (700) for ninth place on the All Time list. Alain Vigneault (722) currently holds eighth place for coaching wins in the NHL.
By Diane Doyle
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By Diane Doyle
Congratulations Lavi! Life has a strange way of serving up karma. Winning 700 over the team that fired you has to feel good.
Word.
Congratulations Coach!