The Washington Capitals won their third match in the last four during the road trip in Canada. Fantastic Alexander Ovechkin and the rest of his crew defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 last night, following one dramatic match which ended after overtime.
Ovi, who dominated in this contest posting four points, scored a power-play game-winner with exactly one minute remaining in the overtime. It was his trademark goal, a fierce shot from the left face-off circle. That brought the Capitals a win against another NHL team from Canada after they defeated the Canucks and the Flames previously.
He didn’t only score the deciding goal of the game, but also levelled the result in the third period, beating Frederik Andersen at 4:10 into the frame. Those two goals totalled up for 12 for the Russian player since the season began. But scoring wasn’t the only thing he’s been doing this Tuesday night. One of the best players in the last decade added two assists to his account.
“My job is to shoot the puck and create and score for my team, and obviously the boys know if I’m wide open, I’m there,” Ovechkin said.
He reached no.12 on the all-time scoring list, passing Luc Robitaille, and now has 669 goals.
All three periods were intense, and all ended with 1-1. The teams defended very well, and both goalkeepers were in the middle of attention. Andersen finished the night with 30 saves, while Braden Holtby, stopped 27 shots for the guests. Also, the defensive units were more than efficient last night at the Scotiabank Arena, as Maple Leafs killed six of their eight penalties, and on the other side, Capitals allowed just one to slip them away on eight occasions.
The game started superbly for the Maple Leafs who scored just 40 seconds into the event. It was Andreas Johnsson who delivered a goal, on Auston Matthews’ assist.
A little bit more than 10 minutes later, John Carlson tied the result, with a one-timer. Carlson posted 23 points in October, scoring twice tonight, and breaking Sergei Gonchar’s previous accomplishment of 22 points in January 2000. The same guy added another goal in the second frame with Capitals having a two-man advantage on the ice.
Auston Matthews responded 33 seconds before the end of that one, deflecting Tyson Barrie’s attempt. Matthews’ superb performance continued in the fourth, with a powerplay goal that pushed the hosts ahead.
Unfortunately for all the home team fans, it was Ovechkin who stepped up in the latter moments, showcasing his skills and determination.
“All in all, I think there were good things done,” said Toronto’s Morgan Rilley. “Obviously you don’t want to live with that end result, but it is what it is, so we’ll talk about it tomorrow, watch some video and try to get better from it.”
Maple Leafs are now heading for Philadelphia to meet the Flyers this Saturday. Meanwhile, the Capitals are finally getting back home, where they host the Buffalo Sabres a day earlier.
