Alex Ovechkin scores twice as Capitals thump Rangers
The Washingon Capials defeated the Rangers 5-3 in a wild night at Capital One Arena
The Washington Capitals are back in the win column and things are looking up in the DMV. Especially when it's a 5-3 win over the New York Rangers led by none other than Alex Ovechkin.
At 3:23 Ovechkin got things rolling with a wrist shot assisted by Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas. Will Cuylle tied it at 4:21 for the Blue Shirts.
Ovechkin would answer with a snap shot for his fourth of the season as Protas and Strome once again assisted there. It was the 855th and 856th of Ovechkin's career, putting him 38 away from tying Wayne Gretzky.
Connor McMichael would keep his hot pace going with his fourth of the season at 8:58 on a tip in. Taylor Raddysh and Rasmus Sandin assisted there.
Chris Kreider struck on the power play 30 seconds into the third period to get the Rangers back in the game. Aliaksei Protas answered with a tip in at 4:30 as Sandin and Trevor van Riemsdyk were credited with the assists.
Filip Chytil made it a 4-3 game 14 seconds later on a tip in shot of his own to beat Logan Thompson. But despite the hiccups Thompson still finished his night with 16 saves. Nic Dowd would put it away in the third period with an empty net goal assisted by John Carlson.
Dylan McIlrath also dropped the gloves with Matt Rempe. McMichael finished his night with 10 shots. Protas, Strome, and Sandin each finished with two assists. The Caps had a 46-19 advantage in shots on net. On the injury front, Jakob Chychrun left in the frist with an upper body injury.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery told Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network
What a hockey game! That had everything. I'm glad that was on national television because that helps our sport a lot. I thought our guys played outstanding from start to finish. Mac set the tone right away. "O" early on. Building. Fans... I was real proud of the way we played.
Carbery on beating the NYR: “What a hockey game! That had everything. I’m glad that was on national television because that helps our sport a lot. I thought our guys played outstanding from start to finish. Mac set the tone right away. ‘O’ early on. Building. Fans…I was real…
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) October 30, 2024
On the two goal peformance from the great eight, Carbery added:
I was on the edge of the seat, like this is going to be a hat trick tonight, just storybook with the way the game's gone. Aside from the chances and the goals, I thought he was fantastic. He should be real confident after his performance tonight.
Next up for the Caps is a Halloween night matchup against the Montreal Canadiens to end the first month of the season.
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