The Gr8 Chase is over and so is the Washington Capitals breif losing streak as they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes by a final of 5-4 in a game that would require a shootout past overtime to determine the winner.
Capitals clinch top seed in Eastern Conference with the win
The Caps found themselves in a hole early. Logan Stankoven struck at 5:42. Jackson Blake doubled the lead at 7:14. At 18:06 on the power play Pierre-Luc Dubois got the Caps on the board with his 20th goal of the sason. Andrew Mangiapane had the primary for his 14th while Rasmus Sandin picked up his 25th assist.
The Caps were outshot in the opening period 15-5. In the second period Dylan Strome struck on the power play at 10:50. Alex Ovechkin set him up for his 28th assist on the year. That tied the game.
Nic Dowd gave the Caps the lead at 16:51 with his 14th goal of the season. Brandon Duhaime had his 12th helper while John Carlson added his 46th. Tom Wilson made it a 4-2 game at 17:29 with his 33rd goal of the season. Connor McMichael had his 31st assist of the season. Caps led in shots 16-9 in the middle period.
Jordan Martinook struck at 4:42 and Seth Jarvis tied the game at 18:15. The Hurricanes led in shots 9-5 in the third period. Caps led in shots 2-1 in the overime but nobody scored. Shot totals were 34-28 in favor of the Hurricanes.
In the shootout, PLD would scoe what would go on to be the game winning goal. It was all the Caps needed as Charlie Lindgren would deny Blake, Andrei Svechnikov and Sean Walker to pick up the win by a final of 5-4.
The Caps would clinch the number one seed in the Eastern Conference with the win. Lindgen would make 30 save in the win and Washington improves their overall record to 50-19-9. 50 win what so happened to be their 50th anniversary season.
Jakob Chychrun wasn't there as he was scratched due to an illness. The fact the Caps were able to withstand the Carolina attack without their top defenseman was huge. Granted, there was still a tying goal but the way the Caps played in that second period, they gotta do for a full 60 in the playoffs.
The Capitals also honored Ovechkin prior to the game for reaching 895 as all seats were filled way before the drop of the puck. Now that the miilestone has been reached, the Caps can focus on an important team goal coming up.
But before the madness that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Capitals have four remaining regular season games left. On Saturday afternoon they'll take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on ABC and ESPN plus with a 12:30 p.m. puck drop from Ohio.