Capitals Down Ducks, 2-0; Ethan Bear Scores First Goal As A Capital

Jon Sorensen

4 months ago

Photo: X/@Capitals

The Washington Capitals began the second half of the season with a date with the Anaheim Ducks. Unlike the first meeting between these two teams, which was a high-scoring affair, Tuesday’s contest was low-scoring and uneventful.

Ethan Bear scored his first goal as a Capital and it turned out to be the game-winner. Darcy Kuemper was phenomenal with a 24-save shutout.

Alex Ovechkin missed his third straight game due to a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, Alex Alexeyev was inserted into the lineup for the first time in 24 games.

Here is how it went down.

LINES AND PAIRINGS

Max Pacioretty – Dylan Strome – T.J. Oshie
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Hendrix Lapierre – Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas – Connor McMichael – Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn – Nic Dowd – Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Alex Alexeyev – Nick Jensen
Joel Edmundson – Ethan Bear

Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren

Scratches: Alex Ovechkin (lower), Sonny Milano (upper), Rasmus Sandin (upper), Trevor van Riemsdyk, Matthew Phillips, Nicklas Backstrom (hip)

PERIOD 1

The Capitals controlled play for the entire first period of play, holding the Ducks to just three shots on goal. Joel Edmundson and Ross Johnston got in a tilt at the 9:14 mark of the first.

#ALLCAPS EDMUNDSON FIGHT W. pic.twitter.com/w3ZnieEj6k

— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) January 17, 2024

Ryan Strome and Anthony Mantha each got late matching roughing minors, which resulted in four-on-four play.

With 37.8 seconds left, Ethan Bear gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead for his first goal as a Capital. T.J. Oshie and Nick Jensen had the helpers. With the assist, Oshie extended his point streak to three games.

Bear’s first goal as a Cap comes in the final minute of the first! pic.twitter.com/aIkMAtF0KY

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 17, 2024

Washington outshot the Ducks 9-3 in the opening 20.

#Caps lead 1-0 after 20. Good period for the good guys, leading in 5v5 shot attempts, 14-6 and xGF .55 to .26. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/pu3F0XR5R7

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) January 17, 2024

PERIOD 2

Each team had a power play and did not convert. The Capitals outshot the Ducks 11-9 in the middle frame. Things started to open up in the period but Kuemper and John Gibson stood tall.

PERIOD 3

The Ducks started to turn up the heat, but Kuemper once again stood his ground. He made an outstanding save on Alex Killorn on the rebound with the goalie pulled. Tom Wilson sealed things off with an empty net tally with 57.6 seconds left in regulation. Martin Fehervary and Nic Dowd had the assists.