The Washington Capitals fell to the Calgary Flames 3-1 but the lone goal came from none other than Alex Ovechkin.
Flames win but Ovechkin inches towards Greatness
Martin Pospisil struck first for Calgary at 11:47 for his fourth goal of the season. Matt Coronato followed it up at 16:42 to make it 2-0 with his 15th goal on the year. Shots were 14-5 in favor of the Flames after one.
In the second the Caps outshot the Flames 12-5 but couldn't muster anything, even with two power play opportunities. But then in the third period Alex Ovechkin answered with a power play goal at 4:52 from the office for his 30th goal of the season to bring him to 12 of passing Wayne Gretzky with his 883rd goal of his career. John Carlson and Dylan Strome assisted.
Jonathan Huberdeau would silence the Capital One Arena crowd with an insurance goal at 15:32 for his 22nd of the season. Caps would be unable to tie it late as the game would finish with a 10-8 shot advantage in the third and 27-25 overall in favor of the Caps. It was a hard fought game but a slow start did them in. Then it got away in the third period late.
Caps had the edge in face off percentage 55.2 percent to 44.8 percent. But they were outhit 27-20 and outblocked 30-15. Caps had 18 giveaways compared to the Flames 14. Flames had three takeaways compared to the Capitals two. It was payback for the Flames as the Caps downed them nearly a month ago up north in Canada on Jan. 28.
Let's go back to Ovechkin. Although he's 12 away from the big one his goal was still significant. He reached the 30 goal mark for the 19th time in his 20 year career and his 19 30 goal seasons are the most in NHL history. He is the fourth player in NHL history to score 30 goals at age 39 or older, joining Gordie Howe, Johnny Bucyk, and Teemu Selanne.
Ovechkin notched his 30th goal in his 42nd game of the season and is the only player in NHL history to reach the 30 goal mark at age 39 or older in fewer than 50 games. He enters the next game three points shy of becoming the 10th player in the history of the League to reach the 1,600 point mark.
Carlson's nine game point streak is tied for the longest of his career as he had the primary assist on the Ovechkin tally. The last time he did it came from Oct. 8, 2019 through Oct. 24, 2019 when he had five goals and 13 assists for 18 points.
Dylan Strome would tally his team leading 41st assist on the Ovechkin goal which extended his career long point streak to nine games with six goals and seven assists for 13 points. He leads Washington in power play points with six goals and 19 assists for 25 ponts and has factored in on 25 of Washington's 40 power play goals this season which is good for 62.5 percent.
Overall it just wasn't their night. The last 40 minues the team put up shots but only Ovechkin would find the back of the net. While it would've been nice to get a standings point on home ice, the fact that Ovi is scoring for the fans at home so they can see and be a part of this greatness is something that shouldn't be overlooked.
The Caps will take on the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night at 7 p.m. on Monumental Sports Network as well as 106.7 The Fan and Caps Radio 24/7.