News

Capitals Fall To Avalanche, 3-2; Alex Ovechkin Scores 31st Goal Of The Season

By Jon Sorensen·
Photo: Twitter:@Capitals

The Washington Capitals fell to the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2 Tuesday night at the Ball Arena in Denver. Alex Ovechkin scored his 31st goal of the season and Conor Sheary notched his 12th tally of the season in the loss. The Capitals record drops to 25-19-6 (56 points) on the season.

LINEUP

Darcy Kuemper (14-12-0-4, 2.55 GAA, .917 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the visiting Capitals. Alexandar Giorgiev (18-11-0-3, 2.64 GAA, .917 sv%) got the start in goal for the Avalanche. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Sonny Milano – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Tom Wilson
Anthony Mantha – Aliaksei Protas – Conor Sheary
Marcus Johansson – Lars Eller – Garnet Hathaway

Erik Gustafsson – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Dmitry Orlov – Nick Jensen
Matt Irwin – Martin Fehervary

Scratched: Nicklas Backstrom (non-COVID Illness), Alex Alexeyev, T.J. Oshie (Paternity Leave)

FIRST PERIOD

The Avalanche were the first to dent the twine. It was the sixth-straight game in which the Avalanche scored the first goal in a game. Artturi Lehkonen (15) notched the initial tally at 8:57 of the opening stanza. Nathan MacKinnon (39) and Devon Toews (23) had the helpers.

That would be it for the first period. The Capitals were 0 for 2 on the power play while the Avalanche did not have a man advantage in the first frame.

Colorado led in 5v5 shot attempts, 16-15 but the Capitals led in SOG, 12-9. The Capitals also lead in xGF .82 to .46 and led the battle at the dot, 57-43%.

SECOND PERIOD

The Avalanche extended their lead to 2-or early in the middle frame with a deflected goal by Andrew Cogliano (8) at 2:04. The Capitals won the faceoff but were unable to clear the zone. Kurtis MacDermid (4) and Logan O’Connor (9) had the assists.

The Capitals answered right back. Conor Sheary (12) deflected a shot by Martin Fehervary at 4:48 of the second period. Martin Fehervary (6) and Anthony Mantha (15) had the assists.

The Avalanche re-established their two-goal lead with a tally from Alex Newhook (11) at 15:39 of the second period. Logan O’Connor (10) and Samuel Girard (10) were credited with the assists.

The second period concluded with the Avalanche leading, 3-1. It was a fairly even game, statistically. Avs led in 5v5 shot attempts, 39-37 and the Capitals led in xGF 1.97 to 1.9. Colorado led the battle at the dot, 53-47%.

THIRD PERIOD

The Capitals closed the gap to a goal on Alex Ovechkin’s 31st goal of the season at 9:44 of the final frame. Dylan Strome (25) had the lone assist.

But that would be it for the scoring, as the Avalanche held on for the 3-2 win.

The Capitals now return home to host the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday night at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is set for 7PM.

SHAVINGS

  • Conor Sheary scored his 12th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1. Sheary’s 12 goals are tied with Marcus Johansson for the second most on the Capitals.
  • Martin Fehervary recorded the primary assist on Sheary’s goal, his sixth assist of the season. Fehervary, who recorded nine assists in 79 games last season, has recorded six assists in 38 games this season.
  • Anthony Mantha recorded the secondary assist on Sheary’s goal, his 15th assist of the season. Of Mantha’s 15 assists, only five have been secondary.
  • Alex Ovechkin scored his 31st goal of the season to cut the deficit to 3-2. Fourteen of Ovechkin’s 31 goals this season have come in the third period, which leads the Capitals.
  • Dylan Strome recorded the primary assist on Ovechkin’s goal, his 25th assist of the season. Strome extends his point streak to four games (3g, 2a).