Ovechkin extended his goal-scoring streak to five games en route to a 3-2 win for the Capitals over the Predators.
WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin is unstoppable.
The Washington Capitals captain played hero once again for his team on Wednesday, as Washington had to overcome a somewhat sloppy effort en route to a hard-earned win.
Ovechkin scored for the fifth straight game, and Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas extended their hot streak as the top-6 delivered again for a 3-2 victory.
Here are all the takeaways from the win, which marks D.C.'s seventh straight victory on home ice.
Ovechkin Keeps Scoring, Connor McMichael & Aliaksei Protas Stay Hot, Top-6 Delivers Again
Alex Ovechkin just can't be stopped right now, and the captain kept the good times rolling with another multi-point performance against the Predators.
After picking up an assist in the second, Ovechkin, with his team tied 2-2 in the third, got to the front of the net and rocketed a feed from Dylan Strome past Juuse Saros to make it a 3-2 game.
It marked Ovechkin's eighth goal of the season and fifth straight game with a goal, and he now has six goals over that span. He is 34 away from passing Wayne Gretzky for the all-time record. The 39-year-old is on pace for 55 goals, which would put him past Gretzky. and past 900 total this spring.
Meanwhile, young guns Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas also extended their hot streaks, along with Dylan Strome.
McMichael has credited his success this season to his linemates, and again, he and his second line delivered on Wednesday to get D.C. on the board.
McMichael drove to the front of the net while Pierre-Luc Dubois fed Matt Roy, who made his return from injury, at point position. McMichael then jumped on Roy's rebound and fired the puck past Juuse Saros to make it a 1-1 game in the first.
It marked McMichael's seventh goal in as many games, and he now has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 12 appearances this season, the second-most on the team. He also led D.C. with six shots.
Then, in the second period, after a bit of a sloppy showing, the first line continued its impressive run. Strome won a board battle and got the puck to Ovechkin, who passed it up to Protas for his fifth goal of the season and eighth point in five games.
Protas now has points in four of his last five games and is producing at a point-per-game pace.
Strome had two helpers and has a team-leading 19 points. He ranks fourth in the NHL in assists, and he also registered his 200th career NHL assist on Ovechkin's goal.
Thompson Helps Capital Overcome Sloppy Play, Team Catches Breaks
While Washington, it was a bit of a sloppy effort on home ice, which appeared to create some issues for the team over the course of the game.
The Capitals were missing passes and turning the puck over, and the play in front of Logan Thompson was a bit too loose at times as deflections proved to be the name of the game for the Predators' offense. Multiple pucks also beat the defense and Thompson but rang off the post or crossbar in lucky breaks for D.C.
It was also a rare off night for the fourth line, as Brandon Duhaime, Nic Dowd and Taylor Raddysh struggled defensively.
Thompson ultimately put up a strong showing with 33 saves on 35 shots (.943 save percentage) including a huge save on Filip Forsberg with 7.4 seconds left. He remains undefeated in his Capitals tenure so far.
Washington also got another big break in the third, as a Predators goal was waved off for goaltender interference. That call was confirmed after a challenge and lengthy review for D.C.
Power Play Woes Continue
Though the power play has broken through a couple of times over the last few games, the team is still in rough shape to open the season when it comes to the man advantage, and those woes continued Wednesday.
Washington struggled to get bounces to go its way, turned pucks over, made poor passes and just couldn't find a way to convert, going 0-for-6 on the night. There were some good looks, but it just wasn't enough for D.C.
The Capitals are now 2-for-37 over this long stretch of struggles that dates back to the third game of the year.
Matt Roy Makes Return On Defense, Rasmus Sandin Shines
After missing the last 10 games with a lower-body injury suffered in the season opener, Matt Roy was eager to get in the lineup and actually show the Capitals what he could do, and he delivered in a big way.
Not only did he get an assist, but he led the way physically with a team-leading four hits and had two blocks. He was effective in helping shut down chances in his own end and also did a good job of moving the puck up ice and getting pucks to the goal. He also had a huge game-saving block with his hand in the final minutes of play.
Roy was a good match on the second pairing with Rasmus Sandin, who had quite the night himself for the Capitals. Sandin led all defensemen in ice time with over 23 minutes of ice time and had a handful of great plays to break up quality chances for Nashville, including sliding blocks and smart dekes.