Seven Heaven! Washington Capitals Fly Over Jets to a 3-1 Win for their Seventh Straight

The Washington Capitals got a huge win on home ice on Sunday night, defeating the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 for their seventh win in a row. This was a much needed win before two big games coming up this week.

The Capitals won this game by stopping the high-powered, high-flying Jets offense. With Braden Holtby getting the night off, Pheonix Copley got the start in goal and was brilliant. Copley stopped 33-of-34 shots for a .971 save percentage to win his fifth start in a row. Copley improves his record to 15-5-3.

With the win, the Capitals remain ahead of the pack in the Metropolitan Division four points ahead of the New York Islanders after they fell on Saturday to the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2. Their record improves to 41-21-7 for 89 points.

The Capitals stuck first at 4:35 when Michal Kempny dished a cross-ice pass to John Carlson, who found Nicklas Backstrom at the top of the point. Backstrom’s blast went past Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to give the Capitals an early 1-0 lead. It was Backstrom’s 18th goal of the season as well as his third straight game scoring a goal, kind of like Andre Burakovsky entering Sunday’s game.

Less than two mintues later at 6:23 the Jets tied it with Mathieu Perreault’s 12th goal of the season. Capitals fans might remember him from 2009-2013 where Perrault spent four seasons with the Capitals before joining the Anaheim Ducks for one season and then ultimately finding a home in Winnipeg for the last five seasons.

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The Capitals killed off two penalties late in the first. Brett Connolly was called for tripping at 14:28 and at 14:54 Washington was whistled for too many dudes on the ice, putting the Jets at a 5-on-3 advantage. The Capitals killed off the penalty and the first period ended with the score squared at one, the Jets with the 8-5 edge in shots. Per Tom Guilitti of NHL.com, the Capitals had one shot on goal in the final 14:13 of the first period and missed the net on eight attempts. Part of this, of course, was due to the PK time.

During the 5-on-3 PK, there was a scare with Matt Niskanen leaving the ice after blocking a one-time shot from Patrick Laine with his left hand. He was back on the ice for the second period though.

The Jets got a power play at 6:18 when Carl Hagelin was whistled for holiding, which Washington was able to kill. The Capitals came up empty on their first power play opportunity at 9:33 after Perrault tripped Hagelin.

Hagelin got another penalty at 12:24 when he cross-checked Mark Scheifele. After another successful kill, Hagelin came right out of the box, Nic Dowd gave him a great backhanded pass and he was all alone for a breakaway. Hagelin beat Hellebuyck with a shot through the five hole to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 14:32.

Hagelin’s breakaway goal brought the house down. Hagelin’s goal would give the Capitals a 2-1 lead entering the final period despite being outshot 15-4 in the second period and 23-9 overall through 40 minutes.

Things got real interesting in the third period, especially midway. The Jets thought they got a goal from Bryan Little to tie the game but the replay showed Little’s stick pushing Copley’s right pad. The call on the ice after review was no goal due to goaltender interference. The Jets challenged but the call stood and the Caps fans applauded as their team was still hanging onto the 2-1 lead.

https://twitter.com/NBCSCapitals/status/1104915513740849152

There was a late scare at 7:25 when Dmitry Orlov was called for tripping Kyle Connor, putting the Jets on the late power play with 2:35 to go. The Jets pulled their goalie for the 6-on-4. After another big kill, Lars Eller put the game away with an empty netter. It was Eller’s 10th of the season and the second consecutive game Eller provided the ENG to seal the game.

The Capitals’ seven-game win streak ties their season-high that they set from Nov. 16-30th. It was also their fourth straight win at home, which is a new season-long. According to NHL PR, Washington’s two seven-game winning streaks during a season was the second time in franchise history they have accomplished that feat. The last time they won two sets of seven-straight wins was during the 1992-93 season from Nov. 30-Dec. 12, 1992 and Feb. 9-23, 1993.

The Capitals head back on the road for a four-game road trip. Their first stop is Pittsburgh where they’ll have a date with the Penguins on Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. puck drop.