Washington Capitals come up clutch in win over Kings

It was another late night game. It was the second leg of a back to back. Unlike the previous night though, the Washington Capitals got the win in clutch time and no overtime was required. It came off the stick of Garnet Hathaway.

The first period was scoreless but the Caps did what they had to do. Dmitry Orlov was called for elbowing Anze Kopitar but the Caps penalty kill killed off the penalty. That was the only power play the Caps faced. The Caps were outshot 14-9 in the first period.

The Caps outshot the Kings 11-7 in the second period but the game was still scoreless entering the final period.

In the third the Caps took the lead late at 16:30. It came from Hathaway as he tipped in his own rebound in front of the net. John Carlson and Evgeny Kuznetsov had the helpers.

Hathaway told the media after the game:

"“The puck’s going in the net, eh? I’ve been on the end of a lot of great plays right now. Tonight, what a play by Kuzy to John. …John is a skilled player, so I just had to stand there and put my stick on the ice.”"

Caps head coach Peter Laviolette added:

"“Hath was playing well but you always get judged by goals, it seems. Especially in the role that he plays, sometimes that’s not necessarily the factor that determines it for me. But with the amount of offense that’s out of the lineup right now, to have him contributing the way he is, is really important. He skates well, he handles the puck well, he shoots it hard, he goes to the hard areas. There’s no reason he shouldn’t score goals.”"

Hathaway would seal the win with an empty net goal at 18:42. He has five goals on the season now. The Caps outshot the Kings 18-13 in the final period and 38-34 overall. Carlson had the assist on the empty netter. Ilya Samsonov got the shutout, stopping all 34 shots he faced.

Samsonov talked to the media after his big game:

"“I need to play like that every night. It was an important game for me. I think I (turned to the) next page because my start of the season is not too great. I will believe that I will be better.”"

The Caps continue their road trip on Saturday night with another back to back. First up is the San Jose Sharks at 10:30. Ugh another late one.