NHL Journalist & Reporter
Washington D.C.
- NHL Out Of Beijing Olympics And On Pause Due To COVID-19 Spike - December 23, 2021
- Capitals Defeat Ducks In Shootout - December 7, 2021
- Capitals’ Consistency Earns NHL’s Top Spot - November 30, 2021
The Washington Capitals (16-4, 38 pts) defeated the Anaheim Ducks (13-8, 31 pts) 4-3 in a shootout Monday Night at home.
After Ilya Samsonov came up big in net for the Capitals in the shootout, defenseman John Carlson netted the clutch and final goal to give Washington the win. This marks the ninth home win this year for the Capitals, who have been money on home-ice with only one regulation loss and four overtime losses.
The game was full of savvy puck movement, tic-tac-toe goals and great effort plays all-around.
The Capitals started off scoring in the first period with brilliant puck wizardry. As Alex Ovechkin came through the the middle of the ice, he slithered a pass through two Ducks’ defensemen over to Justin Schultz. Schultz passed to a wide open Tom Wilson, who scored basically on an empty net because the goalie was so out of position. The goal for Wilson was the 100th of his career.
After the Capitals outshot the Ducks 11-10 in the first period, Anaheim came right back in the second. Things shifted and got chippy, which led to scoring on both ends but the Ducks tied the game nine seconds into the second period on Josh Manson’s goal.
Washington forward Carl Hagelin got his first goal of the year, which established a 2-1 lead in the period. T.J. Oshie notched an assist on this goal in his first game back.
The Capitals have had a lot of players in their lineup score this season, which is significant for championship driven teams.
Sonny Milano and Vinni Lettieri scored goals back to back to give the Ducks the 3-2 advantage on the scoreboard, but this was short lived. After Manson turned the puck over in the defensive end, Ovechkin gathered and found John Carlson, who scored on a second chance rebound. The goal is his sixth on the year, tying the game at 3-3 in the last minute of the second period.
Anaheim also outshot the Capitals in the third period, 10-8. However, the score remained 3-3 at the end of regulation.
Washington stayed with it. In overtime it was pretty relaxed with puck position being the main component. Overall in OT, the Ducks only registered one shot and the Capitals none.
The shootout was a nail biter, which had Capitals’ faithful fans on the edge of their seats. Troy Terry started things off by scoring the first goal for the Ducks in the shootout. The renowned shootout wizard Oshie missed on the other end as Ducks’ goalie John Gibson make a key save.
The Caps’ received an even bigger save from Samsonov on the other end that could’ve ended the game as former Capital Kevin Shattenkirk couldn’t score. This left Caps’ forward Daniel Sprong, who scored five-hole on Gibson to extend the shootout.
Rickard Rakell scored for the Ducks, bringing up Ovechkin. Ovechkin performed a nasty backhand goal to again extend the Capitals’ chance to win the game.
This brought up Sonny Milano, who missed his attempt. That provided the opening for a Washington victory. John Carlson scored on a dart top corner and gave the Capitals the victory.
The Washington Capitals square off again next on Friday night, ending a four-game homestead against their arch rival Pittsburgh Penguins.
