Capitals end road trip with shutout over Coyotes

The Washington Capitals accomplished what they needed to do this April and take care of business on a challenging five game road trip that was a season long. The Caps are now 7-1-1 in their last nine games including 3-1-1 on the road trip.

At 11:33 the Caps got things started when Nicklas Backstrom faked a shot in front of the net and dished it to Conor Sheary for his 18th of the season. Justin Schultz had the secondary assist.

1-0 was the score after one as the Caps outshot them 12-6. The second period was scoreless as the Caps outshot the Coyotes 8-5.

John Carlson scored an empty net goal at 19:24 to seal the win. It was his career high 16th goal of the season. Nic Dowd and Sheary had the helpers. The Caps outshot the Coyotes 9-8 in the third period and 29-19 overall. Vitek Vanecek stopped all 19 shots.

Vanecek came up big in the third period and Coach Peter Laviolette approved that:

"“It’s one thing when you’re feeling the puck all the time and you’re in a rhythm. There’s not much going on and all of a sudden you’ve got be incredible. So he really did a good job of that tonight.”"

Sheary added:

"“To take seven points on the road, on a long road trip, it’s a good job by our guys.”"

Schultz said:

"“It’s not exactly the easiest game to play in. End of a road trip. V made some big saves for us there in the end. We got the two points, and this time of year that’s pretty much all that matters.”"

This was big for the Caps as they’re now deadlocked with the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Caps improve their record to 44-23-11 for 99 points. They’re also tied with the Boston Bruins for the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

This means the Caps could play either the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, or New York Rangers in the first round. There’s four games left, two at home and two on the road, and those games will determine where the Caps will be seeded.

First up is a Sunday night contest back at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs where the Caps will look to avenge their only loss on the road trip.