Hear what the Capitals had to say postgame following a wild 4-3 win over the Kings.
WASHINGTON — For the Washington Capitals, Sunday's 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings was never lost.
Washington had no doubts that it'd emerge with two points, and ultimately, a goal from John Carlson with 53.2 seconds left in regulations iced the game.
"I wasn't really expecting to score, but I'll take it all the time," Carlson said after the win.
Captain Alex Ovechkin, who had been a game-time decision, came in to interrupt Carlson's interview with a "Norris" chant.
The fourth line was the true difference-maker in the win, though, as Nicolas Aube-Kubel had a three-point night while Nic Dowd, who has points in four of the last five, had a goal and assist. Malenstyn added a helper to boot.
The Capitals had gone down 3-2 early in the third after a second power-play goal against, but Dowd said the group knew then that it would rally back. Aube-Kubel would tie it before Carlson's game-winner.
"I think coming back to the bench after that penalty kill goal, bad bounce, Darce loses it, I don’t get to a poke check in front and I think we’re kinda looking at each other like, 'There’s no way we’re gonna lose this game based off of that bounce,'" Dowd said. "I think we played too well, and we’ve had a long stretch, and it’s been tough. We've lost guys to injuries; guys are trying to find their game, whatever it is, and I think Kubey made a hell of a play to get us right back in the game (because) L.A.'s a tough team to play against when you’re chasing it.”
Another line also emerged as a game-changer, as Evgeny Kuznetsov was benched following Fiala's first goal of the game, while Alex Ovechkin went to operate with Max Pacioretty and Dylan Strome. That combination paid off, as Pacioretty forced a turnover to send Ovechkin and Strome on a give-and-go, where Strome tied things at 2 with his 15th of the season. It marked Pacioretty's first point since returning from a re-torn Achilles and his first assist since 2021-22.
That trio found chemistry and stuck together in the third, and should continue to stick together going forward as head coach Spencer Carbery rides the hot hand. And for Strome, it was a great line to play on.
“I was talking to Patch a bit about it because he said he’s not used to typically playing the right side but thought it might be a little bit easier in the D-zone with how hard they were pinching. He's a great player, he can adjust on the fly, he’s been around for a long time and fun to play with those guys," Strome said. We were hunting pucks down, had 5 or 6 good chances in the third and didn’t give up too much so. Yeah, I mean with the way things were going, and if coach gives you an extra shift here, you try to take advantage of it and try to get out there and do something. And Patch made a great turnover and when you play with a guy like Ovi, he knows the offensive instincts of the game and I hit an open net. It was a great play.”
Here are the full postgame comments from the likes of Carlson, Dowd and Strome.