The Washington Capitals bounced back in a big way with a 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Nobody scored in the first period as the Caps were outshot 8-5.
In the second period Tom Wilson struck on the power play at 9:03 for his 19th goal of the season. Dylan Strome and Alex Ovechkin had the helpers, Strome with his 34th and Ovechkin with his 12th.
At 16:14 Filip Forsberg would tie it with a power play goal of his own for his 11th of the season. The middle stanza saw the Caps be outshot 12-3. They'd be outshot 13-8 in the third period and 33-16 overall. But Washington would respond to a 1-1 tie with three goals in the third to get the win for Logan Thompson, who finished with 32 saves to improve his record to 18-2-3. His night ended with a .970 save percentage.
Ethen Frank struck at 8:30 for his first career NHL goal as Matt Roy added his ninth assist while Martin Fehervary had his 10th. Andrew Mangiapane would follow for his 10th goal of the season at the 14:54 mark. Brandon Duhaime and John Carlson had the assists, Duhaime with his sixth and Carlson with his 24th.
Then it was Alex Ovechkin who put a stamp on this win as he scored an empty netter at 19:01 for his 20th goal of the season to put him at 873 on his career. He's 21 away from tying and 22 away from passing Wayne Gretzky.
The Caps, with their win, improve their record to 28-10-5 for 61 points which is good for first in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. They're off Sunday and will enjoy that off day with football on with an even point record to the Winnipeg Jets for tops in the NHL.
On Monday the Caps will hit the ice for practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex at 10:30 a.m. The next day there will be a morning skate at the same time prior to their game Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks which you can see at 7 p.m. on Monumental Sports Network.