It was a chaotic night for the Capitals, who are now four points out of a playoff spot.
WASHINGTON — Amid mounting injuries, the Washington Capitals have had to turn to the Hershey Bears for help. And on Monday, the Bears and the youth proved to be the answers, as Hendrix Lapierre and Aliaksei Protas helped pave the way for a critical win over the Ottawa Senators.
Lapierre struck twice, Protas had a three-point night and more players stepped up to help the Capitals to a chaotic 6-3 win over the Senators.
Here are all the takeaways from the victory, which moves D.C. four points out of a playoff spot:
Protas Helps Capitals Get Off To Impressive Start As Offense Continues To Bust Out
Following scoring woes to open the first half of the season, the floodgates have opened for the Capitals, who have managed at least four goals in four of their last six games and have scored six times in two of the last four overall.
Protas opened the scoring early for Washington, picking up his fifth of the season after taking a feed from Anthony Mantha to the front and sneaking a backhander past Anton Forsberg.
Minutes later, John Carlson made it 2-0 with a power-play goal off the face-off. It marked his 145th career goal, moving him past Sergei Gonchar for the second-most by a defenseman in franchise history.
While the Senators would get two strange goals — one on a miscue by Darcy Kuemper that left Drake Batherson with a wide-open net and another on a tip by Shane Pinto — the Capitals' power play would come up big again, as Max Pacioretty called his own number and made it 3-2.
Just 14 seconds later, Protas would make another standout play, feeding Beck Malenstyn as he crashed the net to make it a 4-2 game going into the second. It marked Protas' 20th helper of the season and his seventh multi-point outing of the year.
Lapierre Adds To Surge, Secures Win For Capitals
In the second period, just 31 seconds after a goal from Brady Tkachuk made it 4-3 after a tough turnover in the neutral zone, Lapierre took over to put the game back out of reach.
The 22-year-old, who was called up from Hershey on Friday and playing in his first NHL game in over a month following an impressive stint back down at the AHL level, stuffed home his third of the season to restore the two-goal lead.
Later in the frame, Lapierre went on a 2-on-1 with Mantha, and the two pulled off a nice give-and-go before Lapierre put home his second of the night for a 6-3 lead, marking his first NHL multi-goal game.
Lapierre also got rewarded with more ice time and opportunity and also got a shift with Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson in the third. He looked confident in his ability, as he played smart, won his battles, got strong looks on net and made some good passes and moves and went 3-for-4 in the face-off dot through 11:02 minutes.
McMichael Stays Hot, Pacioretty Heating Up
The Capitals have also seen impressive play of late from Connor McMichael, and he kept the momentum going with two assists for his third multi-point outing in the last four games.
Not only does he continue to impress offensively, but he continues to take on more responsibility in his own end and also drew a penalty.
Meanwhile, Pacioretty's goal marked his second since returning from a re-torn Achilles and first in 17 games, and he also has points in four of his last five outings overall.
Special Teams Make Big Difference, Capitals Tighten Up Defensively Throughout Game
The Capitals also continue to be successful on special teams, which marks another turning point after a lackluster start to the 2023-24 campaign for D.C.
Washington now has power-play goals in five of the last six games and went 2-for-3 against Ottawa. The Capitals were moving the puck effectively, making the right decisions and doing a good job of keeping the Senators guessing as Carlson and Pacioretty cashed in.
At the other end, Washington stayed disciplined but came up with a solid performance on the penalty kill, going 1-for-1 against Ottawa. The Capitals' penalty kill is 8-for-9 over the last four games.
It also helped that Washington cleaned things up defensively and started to tighten up after playing a bit fast and loose to start. The Capitals blocked 27 of the Senators' attempts and sacrificed the body to protect Darcy Kuemper. Kuemper, who had some hiccups, stopped 18 of 21 shots.
Overall, the third period was solid, as D.C. limited the opportunities for Tkachuk, Tim Stützle and more.
Top Shelf Takes
- Malenstyn picked up a goal and assist for his second career multi-point game; his first came earlier in the season, on Dec. 10, against the Chicago Blackhawks. The 25-year-old also came up with a big block at the end of the game.
- Carlson skated in his 984th NHL game, moving him past Calle Johansson for the most games played by a defenseman in NHL history.
- Mantha picked up two assists and has seven points in his last six games. The 29-year-old also hit the 30-point mark for the first time since 2019-20.
- Mike Sgarbossa picked up an assist on the power play, marking his first power-play point since 2017.
- Alex Alexeyev led with six blocks.
- Tom Wilson had a team-leading seven hits.
Injury Notes
- T.J. Oshie is officially week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
- Nic Dowd (upper-body) skated in a non-contact jersey ahead of practice and is day-to-day.
- Martin Fehervary (lower-body) also skated in a non-contact jersey but is still week-to-week.
- Nick Jensen (lower-body) did not play on Monday.
- Sonny Milano (illness) missed Monday's game.