Washington Capitals defeat Flames 5-3
The Washington Capitals defeated the Calgary Flames and John Carlson made history in the process.
John Carlson scored two goals in the Washington Capitals 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames to become the fourth defenseman in NHL history to record at least 20 points in the month of October.
The first period was scoreless with both teams coming up empty on the power play and the Flames outshooting the Caps 15-9. The scoring turned on in the second with a combined five goals.
Carlson got things started 35 seconds into the middle stanza shooting a loose puck off past Flames netminder Cam Talbot. Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie were credited with the assists.
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The Capitals doubled their lead at 2:41 when Chandler Stephenson stole the puck from Talbot behind the net. Stephenson’s pass was intended for Brendan Leipsic but the puck ricocheted off the skate of defenseman Rasmus Andersson into the net. For Stephenson, it was his first goal of the season.
The Flames got on the board at 3:19 from Elias Lindholm and tied the game at 16:25 with a goal from Austin Czarnik. The Caps went back in front at 16:35 with Nicklas Backstrom finding Ovechkin to finish a two-on-one break. It was Ovechkin’s seventh of the year. Radko Gudas was credited with the secondary assist.
The Capitals added to their lead at 12:34 in the third when Lars Eller found a wide-open Tom Wilson in front of the net for the finish for his fourth goal of the season. Michal Kempny was also credited with an assist.
The Flames pulled their goalie late in the game for an extra attacker. With the net empty, Carlson added his second goal of the game for his fifth of the season.
Tobias Rieder got one back for the Flames but it was too little too late as the Capitals hung on for a 5-3 win to win the second game of their season-long five-game road trip. The Caps were outshot 35-30 but had the edge in shots in the third period 13-10. Face-offs were close with the Flames holding the edge 51%-49%.
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Back to Carlson, who leads the NHL with 20 points on the season with those two goals. He joins three other defensemen in NHL history to record 20 points in the season’s opening month.
“It’s cool. It’s a great thing, obviously. I don’t really know what to say. Pretty lucky. I’ve had some good fortune this month.”
The Capitals head to Edmonton where they’ll take on Connor McDavid and the Oilers on Thursday night.