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Capitals: Top 3 heroes against Kings

By Michael Marzzacco |
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with his teammates after scoring his first goal of the game against the Los Angeles Kings in the third period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with his teammates after scoring his first goal of the game against the Los Angeles Kings in the third period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with his teammates after scoring his first goal of the game against the Los Angeles Kings in the third period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with his teammates after scoring his first goal of the game against the Los Angeles Kings in the third period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The Washington Capitals got another win in comeback fashion, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena.

Once again the Washington Capitals had to come from behind and it was all Alex Ovechkin with another hat trick to flip the script and the score.

The Kings took a 1-0 lead at 15:03 on a goal from Jeff Carter. 1-0 would be the score after one with the Kings leading in shots 8-6.

The Caps tied it in the second with a gaol from John Carlson at 7:25 assisted by Nicklas Backstrom and Carl Hagelin. 1-1 would be the score after two with the Kings leading in shots 10-6.

Carter notched his second goal of the game at 11:33 before Ovechkin took over with three goals in the span of 4:24. We’ll have more on Ovechkin later since he’s an obvious choice as one of the heroes of the game, probably the top one as he chases 700 career goals.

WASHINGTON, DC -FEBRUARY 4:Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his hat trick with Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (70) in the third period at Capital One Arena February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. The Washington Capitals beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 with help from a hat trick from Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) in the third period.(Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC -FEBRUARY 4:Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his hat trick with Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (70) in the third period at Capital One Arena February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. The Washington Capitals beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 with help from a hat trick from Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) in the third period.(Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images) /

The Caps were outshot all three periods including 13-12 in the third and 31-24 overall. The Caps, with the win, improve their record to 36-13-5 with 77 points, still the top of the NHL standings by a point ahead of the Boston Bruins.

Here are our top 3 heroes from Tuesday night.

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Kyle Clifford #13 of the Los Angeles Kings controls the puck against Nic Dowd #26 of the Washington Capitals in front of Braden Holtby #70 in the second period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Kyle Clifford #13 of the Los Angeles Kings controls the puck against Nic Dowd #26 of the Washington Capitals in front of Braden Holtby #70 in the second period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Braden Holtby

The Caps turned it on late in the third period for their comeback but that wouldn’t have been possible had not for a good performance from Braden Holtby.

Holtby made 29 saves off of the 31 total shots he faced for a .935 save percentage. He only faced one shot on two power play attempts as the defense in front kept things tight.

John Carlson, the best defenseman on the Capitals, gave great praise after the game for the starting goalie. Via NHL.com’s Harvey Valentine:

“[Holtby] came up big. As we do, we gave up a lot of chances there for a little stretch and kind of got our head on straight again and started to simplify it and not giving them anything good to thrive off.”

It was Holtby’s second win in his last three games. In that stretch, Holtby has stopped 79 of 88 shots for an .898 save percentage. His record overall improves to 20-10-4 for a 3.08 goals-against average and a .987 save percentage.

There’s no word on who will get the start in the next game against the Flyers but the Capitals have the best one-two goalie punch in the league with Holtby and Samsonov backstopping the team with NHL’s best record.

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against the Los Angeles Kings in the second period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: John Carlson #74 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against the Los Angeles Kings in the second period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /

John Carlson

Go Johnny go! John Carlson has been the biggest impact player on the Capitals besides Alex Ovechkin this season but the defenseman was scoreless during the whole month of January.

He was due for a goal and on Tuesday night he came down the ice, got a pass from Nicklas Backstrom, started by Carl Hagelin, and shot it past Kings netminder Jonathan Quick for his 14th goal of the season. Carlson’s wrist shot from near the right face-off circle put the Caps on the board to tie the game at 7:25 in the second period.

“I kind of was coming from the wall so maybe he didn’t see me as much but certainly if he goes there he’s gotta make a decision one way or the other and kind of try to play half and half, and leave both plays open. Nick (Backstrom) was gonna find the open guy in that scenario and I think a good example of coming back and creating that turnover,” Carlson told the media on the goal.

Carlson’s only two points in the four games since the break came in Washington’s win over Ottawa. Despite this, he still leads all defensemen in points and is only getting warmer.

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates after scoring his first goal of the game against the Los Angeles Kings in the third period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates after scoring his first goal of the game against the Los Angeles Kings in the third period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Alex Ovechkin

Great players make winning plays, game-changing plays, and Alex Ovechkin did exactly that. It’s no surprise now. Ovechkin is the greatest goal scorer of our generation, perhaps ever.

All four goals came in the third period late in the span of 4:26 seconds. His first came at 13:50, 6:10 left in the game to knot the score and cue “Shake, Rattle, and Roll”.  Ovechkin was knocking right on the doorstep and banged home a saucer pass from T.J. Oshie. Ovechkin was held without a shot until that moment.

For all the haters that say “Alex Ovechkin can only score from that one dot” I hate to break it to you that Ovechkin was all over the ice and none of his goals came from the office.

His second goal was even more sick with Ovechkin following his own shot to score off his own rebound. It came with five minutes left to give the Caps the lead.

The Kings pulled Quick and Ovechkin put the game away with a bullseye empty netter from downtown to complete the hat trick and raise his goal total up to 40 goals on the season and 698 in his career. Folks, 700 could come as early as Saturday.

Ovechkin’s hat trick was a season-high fourth and the 27th of his career. He now has 11 total 40-goal seasons and needs just one more to tie Wayne Gretzky. Ovechkin has scored 14 goals over his last seven games since Jan. 13 and no other player has more than seven.

Hot. Capitals shake, rattle, and roll past Kings behind a clutch hat trick from Alex Ovechkin. light

Those are our top 3 players from Tuesday’s win. We get a few days off before we’re back at it Saturday night against the Philadelphia Flyers which could be a night of history.

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