Capitals score three in third to down Jets
The Washington Capitals ended their road trip with an explosive 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Three unanswered goals in the third period would prove to be the difference.
The first period was scoreless with the Caps outshooting the Jets 14-8. The Caps struck first at 3:11 of the second on a snipe from Brett Leason for his third goal of the season. Mike Sgarbossa and Matt Irwin had the assists.
At 8:43 the Caps doubled their lead with Aliaksei Protas setting up Daniel Sprong in the Ovi office for his fifth of the season. Former Capital Brenden Dillon got the Jets on the board at 14:32. The Jets outshot the Caps in the second 20-9.
In the third at 2:03 Josh Morrissey tied it with a power play goal. The Caps would answer with three unanswered goals. At 9:09 the Caps took the lead with Conor Sheary going hard in the paint and cleaning up the loose puck. Justin Schultz and Dennis Cholowski had the helpers.
At 17:20 Sgarbossa scored an empty net goal. Leason and Nick Jensen had the assists. Finally at 19:09, Alex Ovechkin had an empty netter of his own. It was assisted by Sprong and John Carlson. It was Ovechkin’s 22nd of the season.
The Caps outshot the Jets 16-14 in the third period while the Jets had the edge overall 42-39. Vitek Vanecek made 40 saves for a .952 save percentage. “He stepped up and was a star tonight,” said Sheary.
The Caps had to roll out with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Nicklas Backstrom joined Evgeny Kuznetsov and Garnet Hathaway in COVID protocol. The Caps also were missing Nic Dowd and Trevor Van Riemsdyk who despite being out of COVID protocol couldn’t travel to Canada due to their COVID restrictions. Those two should be available when the Caps host the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night.
Tom Wilson also wasn’t available Friday as he missed his third straight game due to an upper body injury. Wilson traveled with the team to Chicago and Winnipeg but didn’t play, instead practicing in a non contact jersey.
"“It’s just kind of the new norm these days: the covid situations, injuries, guys have been in and out, and lineups don’t stay the same for two games in a row it seems.”"
Trending. Nicklas Backstrom gets added to COVID protocol. light
The Caps are off today and will be back at it tomorrow night against the Kings.