Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images
The Washington Capitals downed the Winnipeg Jets, 4-1 Friday night at Capital One Arena. Alex Ovechkin scored his 801st and 802nd career goals to pass Gordie Howe for sole possession of second place on the all-time goals list and Sonny Milano scored his second goal in as many games in the win. The victory improves the Capitals record to 19-13-4 (42 points) on the season.
Charlie Lindgren (9-4-0-2, 2.71 GAA, .910 sv%) got the start in goal for the Capitals. David Rittich (5-3-0-0, 2.55 GAA, .909 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the visiting Winnipeg Jets. The Capitals starting forward lines and defensive pairs:
Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Anthony Mantha
Marcus Johansson — Lars Eller — Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Aliaksei Protas — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway
Erik Gustafsson — John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov — Nick Jensen
Matt Irwin — Trevor van Riemsdyk
Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Joe Snively, Alex Alexeyev
Injured: Connor Brown (ACL, missed 32nd straight game, out indefinitely); Carl Hagelin (hip, 36th, indefinite); Tom Wilson (ACL, 36th, indefinite); Nicklas Backstrom (hip, 36th, indefinite); Beck Malenstyn (finger, 25th, week-to-week); Martin Fehervary (lower-body, 10th, day-to-day); T.J. Oshie (upper-body, second, day-to-day)
FIRST PERIOD
The Capitals and Jets battled to a scoreless draw for the first 18 minutes of the opening frame, then Capitals’ captain Alex Ovechkin said enough was enough.
TIED AT NO. 2 ALL-TIME ‼️
Alex Ovechkin has now matched Gordie Howe with 801 career goals. pic.twitter.com/bWFxEwkD14
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 24, 2022
Ovechkin’s goal came at 18:22 of the period. Dylan Strome (18) and Conor Sheary (10) had the assists.
The goal was Ovechkin’s 801st career goal in the NHL, tying Gordie Howe for second place on the all-time goals list.
The period concluded with the Capitals leading, 1-0. Caps controlled possession for the first 8 minutes, then it was basically even for the remainder of the period. Caps led in 5v5 shot attempts, 22-11, but Jets led in xGF .73 to .5.
SECOND PERIOD
The Capitals made it 2-0 midway in the second period with a goal from Sonny Milano (5) at 12:46 of the middle frame. It was Milano’s secoConor Sheary (11) and Alex Ovechkin (19) had the helpers.
#ALLCAPS 2-0. MILANO SCORES ON THE POWERPLAY, OVECHKIN ASSIST pic.twitter.com/uNxdx4AMzD
— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) December 24, 2022
That would be it for the middle frame. Similar structure to the second period. Caps jumped out in 5v5 shot attempts early in the period, then it was basically even for the remainder of the period. Caps led in 5v5 shot attempts 36-19 and xGF 1.64 to 1.02 after 40 mins.
THIRD PERIOD
Capitals defenseman John Carlson took a shot to the face early in the third period. He would leave the game.
Really Hope John Carlson Is Ok 🙏 pic.twitter.com/jRXvdIWaYr
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthewCFB) December 24, 2022
The Capitals made it 3-0 on a goal from Nic Dowd (8) at 3:49 of the final frame. Garnet Hathaway (5) and Erik Gustafsson (13) had the assists.
Nic Dowd tucks home the give-and-go return pass from Hathaway, extending Washington’s lead to 3!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/gpZeVDMGLU
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) December 24, 2022
The Jets finally got on the board midway through the period with a goal from Kevin Stenlund (2) at 9:59. Karson Kuhlman (4) and former Capitals forward Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (4) had the assists.
Alex Ovechkin added an empty net goal for his 802nd career goal, passing Gordie Howe for second place on the all-time goals list.
Ovechkin 802 🥹 #AllCaps pic.twitter.com/IjIFAk8dXc
— Justin Ayers (@Ayers4President) December 24, 2022
That would be the final.
The Capitals are now off for the Christmas break and will return to action on Tuesday when they visit the Rangers in New York. Puck drop is set for 7PM.
SHAVINGS
- Ovechkin’s goal marks his first career goal against David Rittich, the 166th different goaltender Ovechkin has scored on in his career. Only Jaromir Jagr (178) and Patrick Marleau (177) have scored on more goaltenders in NHL history.
- Sonny Milano scores his fifth goal of the season to extend the Capitals’ lead to 2-0. It marks Milano’s second straight game with a goal and his 16th point (5g, 11a) in 23 games with Washington.
I don’t think we are overpaying Milano.
Confirmed. I’m looking at when the Capitals surge started, about 25 games, +/-, which lines up with Milano’s arrival. Doesn’t directly correlate, but he’s definitely a part,of the reason.
Sonny is my new favorite Cap. There can’t be a better value contract out there, unless there’s a kid on an ELC, or a goalie. Charlie, Gus and Sonny are all providing great value
There’s a mystery about the kid I can’t quite put my finger on, but he sure has been a positive addition to the Caps.
I get what your saying. I think part of the “mystery” is that no other teem wanted to sign him or even take a chance. Right now, GMBM is looking like a genius.
This team is on fire. Good to get the Ovi goals out of the way so they can dial it in even tighter.