Washington Capitals Report Card: Grading offense against Blackhawks

The Washington Capitals won their third game in a row with a victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night to kickoff their five-game road trip.

It both ended their week on a high note and began a  long road trip in the best way it can. The Washington Capitals played another great game and the offense found the back of the net aplenty.

The Capitals won 5-3 thanks to a variety of heroes. None was bigger than Tom Wilson, who had the game-winner in the third period.

The first period saw the Capitals put up 12 shots, one going in on the power play by T.J. Oshie. The Capitals got to that power play after Andrew Shaw was called for holding Nick Jensen. Oshie came down the middle and buried in a pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov.

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In the second period the offense came up big on the other end of the special teams spectrum. That’s right, they cashed in on a shorthanded goal from Nic Dowd.

This is a kind of sequence where it’s defense-turned-offense and Carl Hagelin pounced on a turnover and created a chance on a 2-on-1 rush. That’s when he found Dowd for the finish to give the Capitals the 2-1 lead. The Capitals were outshot 15-9 in the second period.

The third period was the best period for both team’s offenses. On the Capitals side, they scored three goals including one in the clutch from Tom Wilson and another that was an empty netter.

Before any of that happened though, Alex Ovechkin blasted a one-timer from his office off a pass from John Carlson. Carlson continues his tear as an elite NHL defenseman and makes a serious case for the Norris Trophy. His assist extended his point streak and kept him up in the leaderboards in that category.

The Blackhawks tied it at three with goals from Dominik Kubalik and Patrick Kane. The Capitals responded with a huge goal from Wilson after he rebounded a shot from Lars Eller.

Eller added an empty net goal to seal the win. For the second period in a row the Capitals were outshot 15-9 but they made them count when it mattered the most.

Grade B+: The Capitals overall were outshot 44-30 but still scored five times. That’s why this offense gets a B+ as they continue to progress. John Carlson has killed it right from the get go and the lineup coach Todd Reirden constructed after the loss to the Avalanche seems to be working.

The Capitals look to continue this momentum Tuesday night in Calgary against the Flames at 9 p.m.