The Washington Capitals earned a 5-1 win over the San Jose Sharks and many players stepped up. It's time to look at the top 3 studs or players who stood out the most in the winning effort.
#3 Trevor van Riemsdyk
What stood out to me was not only was it his first goal of the season but it was also the way he scored the goal. Trevor van Riemsdyk bascially flipped the puck behind the skate of Sharks goalie Georgi Romanov.
TvR goal! TvR goal! TvR goal! TvR goal! TvR goal! pic.twitter.com/GoXQ8vY4hj
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 15, 2025
"(That felt) pretty good. It has been a long time. I was shocked when I saw it, so when I rounded the net I saw it was behind his foot there. It was a fortunate bounce, but at this point, I'll take anything. "Trevor van Riemsdyk
It marked TvR's first goal since March 9, 2023 against the New Jersey Devils.
#2 Aliaksei Protas
This right here is brillant stick work by Aliaksei Protas that was part of a three goal first period attack.
We'd take Pro in a 1v1 against an actual shark#ALLCAPS | @Verizon pic.twitter.com/tBifAXH3m8
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 16, 2025
"Second period, I thought we got pushed a little bit. Started to get a little careless in the second. The first period, we knew in this building, we needed to have a fast start, and that's exactly what we did. "Spencer Carbery
It was Protas' 29th goal of the season and his 27th goal at even strength which ranks tied for third in the NHL. Only Leon Draisatil (34) and Tage Thompson (29) have more even strength goals than Protas.
#1 Alex Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin is now eight goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky for the most goals of all-time in NHL history. He tipped in a shot from Martin Fehervary to bring him closer to the record with 15 more games remaining in the regular season.
"It's great. Lots of people are now watching and lots of attention. It's a great feeling. "Alex Ovechkin
Ovi also had an assist in the winning effort. He did this on the three year anniversary of passing Jaromir Jagr for third on the NHL in goals scored at the time. Now he's eight away from history. Caps fans are everywhere and they made their presence known on the California road trip. It was only a matter of time their hero would reward them with a goal.