Capitals hold on to beat Rangers for 10th win in 11 games
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON โ Capitals players and coach Peter Laviolette sounded as if they'd lost after holding on to beat the New York Rangers 5-4 Sunday. Washington has won 10 of 11 games to move two points up on the second-place New York Islanders and looks primed for another deep playoff run. โIf thereโs a trend, we want to address it,โ said Wilson, who has five points in four games since returning from a seven-game suspension. And their best players are producing: Ovechkin has 11 goals in 11 games and leads the team with 18; Kuznetsov has 12 points in 10 games and Jakub Vrana picked up his first point in five games. Keith Kinkaid made 17 saves for the Rangers, who have lost back-to-back one-goal games after a three-game winning streak.
Ovechkin scores twice, red-hot Capitals shut out Devils 4-0
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his goal with the bench during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Friday, March 26, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON โ Alex Ovechkin scored twice, Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves and the Washington Capitals rode their best players to a 4-0 victory Friday night and two-game sweep of the New Jersey Devils. Ovechkin has scored 10 times in his past 10 games and has a team-best 17 goals this season. Nicklas Backstrom scored his 13th goal of the season, while Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson each had two assists. With Ovechkin rolling, the Capitals have won nine of their past 10 games and are back atop the East Division.
T.J. Oshie scores twice, Capitals come back to beat Devils
Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON โ T.J. Oshie scored twice to end a lengthy drought, Alex Ovechkin had a late power-play goal and the Washington Capitals erased a two-goal deficit to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Sunday. Anderson and New Jersey's Aaron Dell each hadn't started an NHL game in more than 11 months. Ovechkin made Washington 3 of 4 on the power play, just his second goal on the man advantage this season. The Capitals and Devils each played at home Saturday afternoon, so this adjustment was possible.
Lafreniรจre scores 2nd of season, Rangers beat Capitals 4-1
New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenire (13) scores a goal past Washington Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Washington. Also seen are Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) and Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93). (AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON โ Alexis Lafreniรจre scored his second NHL goal, Artemi Panarin had two assists and the New York Rangers made the best of a new-look lineup, beating the Washington Capitals 4-1 Saturday for their second consecutive victory. Panarin set up Lafreniรจre on the doorstep late in the second period, and his shot provided the rebound for Chris Kreider's power-play goal in the first. He's the second Rangers player in league protocol, along with injured forward Filip Chytil.
Bruins erase 3-goal deficit against Capitals, win 5-3
Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with the bench during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in Washington. Buoyed by their top scorer's first two goals of the season and a big rookie's fight against one of the toughest players in hockey, the Bruins erased a three-goal deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Monday night. โIn the box, I was like a little kid in there just jumping around when we scored,โ Frederic said. The Capitals had front-row seats for Pastrnak's breakout performance in his second game after undergoing offseason hip surgery. Former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara scored in his second game against his old team.
Ovechkin returns, scores OT winner as Capitals beat Bruins
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), of Russia, celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Washington. In his first game since Jan. 19, Ovechkin scored the overtime winner to help the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 Saturday night in a showdown between the top teams in the NHLโs East Division. After Ovechkin missed the previous four games because of COVID-19 protocols, the high-scoring forward showed his career-long flair for the dramatic by beating Tuukka Rask with a perfect shot 28 seconds into overtime. โIt was fun,โ said Ovechkin, who also had an assist while being eased back in with 14 minutes of ice time. The Capitals beat the Bruins for the 17th time in 19 regular-season games dating to 2015.
Shorthanded Capitals beat Sabres 4-3 in home opener shootout
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)WASHINGTON โ Jakub Vrana had a goal and an assist, Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves through overtime and the short-handed Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in a shootout Friday night in their home opener. Vanecek was perfect in the shootout to pick up his second victory of the season as defenseman John Carlson scored the shootout winner. Buffalo rookie Dylan Cozens scored his first NHL goal on a top-shelf snipe past Vanecek in the second period. Eric Staal and Riley Sheahan each scored his first goal since joining the Sabres. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves and was spotless in the shootout until Carlson beat him.
Canes' season paused, while Caps play on without 4 regulars
For Peter Laviolette, his Washington Capitals will keep playing for the next week without four prominent players who broke the rules. There's no indication the Capitals are being shut down, though they will have to play the next four games without captain Alex Ovechkin, No. The NHL defers to local authorities, and the minimum four games for the Capitals players relates to the District of Columbia's quarantine regulations. The Hurricanes have so far had three games postponed because of their outbreak and won't play for at least a week. I think thatโs really what weโre going to find out.โ___AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard and Stephen Hawkins contributed.
Ovechkin on COVID list, Caps fined $100K; Canes games off
Five players from the Carolina Hurricanes also are on the list and that teamโs games were called off by the league through โat leastโ Saturday. The postponements were announced Wednesday, a day before the Hurricanes were set to host the Florida Panthers in their home opener. This is the first instance this season of Capitals players appearing on the NHLโs COVID-19 list, which could include those who test positive, have a potential exposure or face quarantine requirements. The league didnโt specify which team prompted that nightโs postponement, although four Hurricanes players โ Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin and Teuvo Teravainen โ were added to the daily COVID-19 list later Tuesday afternoon. Their past five games have been postponed during a stretch in which six Wizards players tested positive for the illness caused by the coronavirus and three others were sidelined after contact tracing determined they might have been exposed.
Guentzel's winner lifts Penguins by Capitals 4-3 in shootout
DeSmith figured Ovechkin would try to fire one past him rather than deke his way to the net. DeSmith stayed upright as Ovechkin closed in and felt the familiar smack of rubber hitting him and not the net. โI thought our guys played hard in the second and third against a really good team,โ Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. While Sullivan remains confident Jarry will be fine, he turned to DeSmith to help get Pittsburgh going. Washington went 1 for 4 on the power play, a tap-in goal by Backstrom in the second that gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead.
Lundqvist to Caps, goalie carousel spins in NHL free agency
Lundqvist signed with the Capitals when free agency opened Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. Lundqvist signed with the Washington Capitals on Friday, a $1.5 million, one-year contract for the 38-year-old goaltender who was bought out by the New York Rangers after 15 seasons. After years of tormenting Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals in the playoffs, Lundqvist will try to help them win it again at the tail end of his illustrious time in the NHL. After losing series to them in 2009 and 2011, Lundqvist eliminated the Capitals three times: 2012, 2013 and 2015. While Washington won it all with Holtby in 2018, Lundqvist endured a Rangers rebuild that saw him rotated around in a three-goalie carousel with Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev.