Capitals play outstanding game in Colorado
The Washington Capitals not only swept the season series from the Colorado Avalanche, they became the first Eastern Conference team to win inside that building and they also ended the Avs nine game winning streak.
The Caps struck first at 4:02 on a snipe from Garnet Hathaway for his 14th of the season. Johan Larsson and Justin Schultz had the assists. The Avalanche tied it at 17:05 on a goal from Valeri Nichushkin. 1-1 was the score after one as the Avs led in shots 11-10.
In the second period at 13:27 the Caps took the lead on a power play slam dunk from Alex Ovechkin for his 48th of the season. The assists came from Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson. His 48th goal tied Teemu Selanne for the most goals in a season by a player age 36 or older.
2-1 was the score after two with the Caps leading in shots 7-4 in the second.
The Avalanche tied it at 8:13 with a goal from Arthur Lehkonen. The Caps answered when Conor Sheary set up Marcus Johansson at 10:46 for his eighth goal of the season. The Caps were outshot 11-10 in the third period but led in shots overall 27-26. Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves. 3-2 would be the final.
The Caps have now won six of their last seven. Johansson told the media:
“It’s something we’ve talked about—this is a good time to get our game going and get the right mindset. This is the way that we want to play. It was a fun atmosphere out there tonight.”
“We’re playing better. We’re playing our game. We played all 60 minutes like we wanted, and they’re a great team, especially in their building. They don’t lose a lot at home.”
Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette said:
“We’re playing some pretty good hockey. I thought our guys were really good. That was a good game, a playoff type game. It was fast, it was physical, it was tight. …When you’re playing a team like that, it has your attention right away.”
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The Caps are off today but will take on the Vegas Golden Knights tomorrow night in the fourth game of their five game road trip.