The penalty kill and power play played a big role in a wild win for the Capitals over Minnesota.
WASHINGTON — To kick off the season, the power play and penalty kill were major weaknesses for the Capitals. But special teams were their biggest strength on Friday against the Minnesota Wild, and it ultimately led to a win.
Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson scored in regulation and John Carlson had the shootout winner while Darcy Kuemper stood tall en route to a 3-2 win over the Wild.
Here are all the takeaways from the win, which marks the first time the team has two consecutive victories since March 2023.
Special Teams Makes Major Difference For Capitals
The Capitals have recently started to connect the dots on the power play and penalty kill, and they both came up big in the win.
Tom Wilson got things going with a shorthanded goal roughly halfway through the first period that would tie the game at one. It marked his first goal of the season and eighth career shorthanded goal, as well as the team's first SHG since April 6.
Then, later in the period, Strome struck on the power play, burying a back-door feed from Alex Ovechkin. It marked Strome's team-leading fifth goal of the season, and Washington has now scored on the power play in three straight games after starting the season 0-for-15 on the man advantage.
Strome now has a team-leading five goals on the season.
Washington remained perfect on the penalty kill, marking the second consecutive game that the PK has been perfect after starting off the year second-to-last.
John Carlson, Darcy Kuemper Play Hero In Shootout
It was a wild shootout for the Capitals and Wild, and it turned out to be a battle of the goaltenders with Kuemper and Marc-Andre Fleury standing tall.
In seven rounds, Carlson was the only one to break through, as his high shot beat Fleury. Kuemper had been solid in regulation and overtime, stopping 39 of 41 shots, and he was perfect in the shootout en route to the win.
Ovechkin Goal Waved Off
Ovechkin appeared to score career goal No. 825, but it was overturned after a coach's challenge determined his initial zone entry was offside.