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Capitals: Top 3 heroes against Penguins

By Michael Marzzacco |
T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 23: Jakub Vrana #13 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at Capital One Arena on February 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 23: Jakub Vrana #13 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at Capital One Arena on February 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

The Washington Capitals got a huge win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon. Let’s relive it one more time.

The Washington Capitals are back where they belong, first place in the Metropolitan Division, after a huge 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The win improves Washington’s record to 38-18-6, good for 82 points.

Jakub Vrana got the Capitals on the board with a breakaway goal at 6:12 in the first for his 24th of the season. 1-0 was the score after one with the Penguins leading in shots 8-6.

The Penguins struck for two in the second on goals from Patric Hornqvist at 14:47 and Sidney Crosby at 15:13 to go up 2-1. Pittsburgh outshot Washington 10-5 in the econd period.

The Caps were outshot 17-12 in the third period and a whooping 35-23 overall but scored four goals in the third to defeat their nemesis. Tom Wilson started the comeback with a breakaway gaol 1:16 in. Carl Hagelin gave the Caps the lead at 4:41 before Evgeni Malkin tied things up at 8:50.

T.J. Oshie gave the Caps the lead at 10:40 while Carl Hagelin sealed it with an empty net goal for the 5-3 win. Braden Holtby made 32 saves for a .914 save percentage.

It was a huge win that they badly needed. Here are the top 3 heroes from the game.

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 23: Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at Capital One Arena on February 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 23: Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at Capital One Arena on February 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Tom Wilson

Tom Wilson ignited the comeback with a breakaway goal, putting together a nice deke backhander to tie the game at two. Nicklas Backstrom was credited with his 38th assist of the season and for Wilson it was his 20th goal. The goal came at 4-on-4 at 1:16.

Wilson admitted after the game that this was a game they had to grind out to earn the win. He told Harvey Valentine of NHL.com:

“The only way to work through it was to go out there and get it done. It wasn’t an easy game. There were ups and downs. That’s a character win. It’s one win. We’re going to learn from it, it was great for the team, but we’ve got to keep going here.”

Wilson is just two goals away from tying his career high that he set last season. With the way he changed his game to avoid discipline by the NHL Department of Player Safety, there’s no doubt he can shatter that mark soon.

Wilson joins Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, and Jakub Vrana as the only players that have scored 20 or more goals, with Evgeny Kuznetsov needing just one more to join his teammates.

Wilson belongs on the top line where he’s gotten the most of his production and that Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson line was the same line they used two years ago in the Stanley Cup Finals.

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 23: Carl Hagelin #62 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his first goal of the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena on February 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 23: Carl Hagelin #62 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his first goal of the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena on February 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Carl Hagelin

Caps fans have waited just over a year to see Carl Hagelin score against his former team and they got to see him do it twice as Hags came up clutch in the third period.

With the score tied at two, Hagelin crashed the net and banged it in at 4:41 of the third period to give the Caps their second lead of the afternoon.

Hagelin told Valentine in the same article:

“We needed a win. I think it was a gutsy effort. Showed a lot of character there in the third.”

Malkin tied the game at 8:50 before T.J. Oshie gave the Caps the lead at 10:40. When the Penguins were pressing towards the end, they pulled their goalie and Hagelin raced down and backhanded an empty net goal to put the game away. The goal was his seventh of the season and the 100th of his NHL career.

Perhaps not terribly lost in this third period madness was a historic assist by John Carlson on Hagelin’s first goal. That assist was the 475th point of his NHL career to pass Calle Johansson for the Capitals all-time point lead among defensemen.

Of course, Wilson and Hagelin get recognized with a little love for Carly as well. Last but certainly not least…

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 23: T.J. Oshie #77 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at Capital One Arena on February 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 23: T.J. Oshie #77 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at Capital One Arena on February 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

T.J. Oshie

T.J. Oshie once again came up clutch against the Penguins when the team needed him the most. Thankfully he didn’t have to overcome any hits from Evgeni Malkin this time like he did a season ago. Oshie gave the Caps the lead for good with 9:20 to go following his own shot off Penguins goaltender Matt Murray for his 25th goal of the season.

Oshie’s goal capped off a four-goal third period comeback to get the Caps back in first place. Coach Todd Reirden was pleased with the win:

“A few breakdowns that they were able to capitalize on, but for the most part I would say that was the most connected five-man game that we’ve played probably in all three zones in quite some time. There’s still mistakes, and we still have to get better in a number of areas, but this was a step in the right direction. Good to see the guys get rewarded with a big third.”

The Capitals after the game added more forward depth with Ilya Kovalchuk. After a huge win over their rivals they now turn their attention to the Winnipeg Jets as they take on them twice this week in a home-and-home series. The first game is Tuesday night at Capital One Arena with a 7 p.m. puck drop. Alex Ovechkin will be honored before the game for 700 goals.

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