Capitals: Alex Ovechkin comes up clutch in Toronto

With his good friend Alex Luey in the stands, Alex Ovechkin put on a show with four points including the game-winner in overtime in a huge Washington Capitals win to end the month of October.

It was another memorable night for Alex Ovechkin and his teammates. The Washington Capitals won a 4-3 overtime thriller over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The win improves their record to 9-2-3 and their nine wins in the month of October ties a franchise record that was set in the 1991-92 season. They additionally set a new franchise high for points with 21, their previous best coming in the 2009-10 season (19).

The Maple Leafs took the early lead 40 seconds in on a goal from Andreas Johnsson after a Michal Kempny turnover. John Carlson knotted the score at 10:47. After Ovechkin got a pass from Nicklas Backstrom, he fed Carlson the puck through traffic to the right face-off area. Carlson’s shot was wicked winding up in the top left corner of the net.

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Just like the 1-1 score, shots were dead even in the first period at seven apiece after the first period. In the second the Capitals got a golden opportunity to take the lead when Alexander Kerfoot was called for high-sticking T.J. Oshie and Cody Ceci was sent to the sin bin for holding Tom Wilson.

The Caps cashed in with Carlson’s second goal of the game at 7:59 and once again Ovechkin and Backstrom had the assists. Carlson took the pass from Ovechkin and paused a split second before blasting it home for his seventh goal of the season.

Carlson’s seven goals and 16 assists are good for 23 points, setting the franchise mark for most points in a month by a defenseman, passing Sergei Gonchar from January 2000. It was also his 426th career point, tying Kevin Hatcher for the third-most points in franchise history by a blueliner.

The Maple Leafs tied it on a deflection goal from Auston Matthews with 33 seconds left, making the score 2-2 heading into the final period. The Capitals outshot the Maple Leafs in the middle stanza 10-8.

Matthews gave Toronto the lead on a power play goal at 1:46 before Ovechkin tied it less than three minutes later at 4:10. The top line came charging down the ice and T.J. Oshie got the puck from Backstrom and fed it to Ovechkin as they crashed the net.

The Maple Leafs outshot the Capitals 14-12 but the Caps killed off a crucial penalty after Radko Gudas was called for delay of game to keep the score locked at three heading into overtime.

The Capitals got two power play chances in the extra session and scored on their second attempt from none other than Ovechkin. How did he score? The good old one-timer blast right from the office. Ovechkin’s goal was the 669th of his career, passing Luc Robitaille for 12th all-time.

Ovechkin’s goal was not only big for the Capitals but for his number one fan Alex Luey. Once again Luey saw another memorable game from his favorite hockey player. The 15-year old is certainly a good luck charm and after the game he received the Washington Nationals helmet given to the player of the game.

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