It was another tight win for the Capitals.
After 20 minutes, the Washington Capitals were thriving. The final 40 minutes would be about surviving — and that's what they did for two big points against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Alex Ovechkin picked up his 830th career NHL goal in a four-goal first for the team, Darcy Kuemper came up big and the Capitals were able to overcome lapses in play and avoid a collapse for a 4-3 regulation win over Pittsburgh.
Here are all the takeaways from the victory, which ends a four-game losing skid.
Capitals Bust Out For 4-Goal First
The Capitals needed a strong start against the Penguins, and they got just that — and then some, as they managed four goals in under 20 minutes. It marked the first time in nine games (Dec. 10) that the team managed over three in regulation.
First, Tom Wilson picked up a nice stretch pass from Rasmus Sandin and fired home a snapshot to make it 1-0 just 55 seconds in. Ethan Bear got the secondary assist for his first point as a member of the Capitals.
Later in the frame, Beck Malenstyn would score his second goal in as many games when his feed to the front went off a Penguins defender's stick and in.
Less than two minutes later, Martin Fehervary fired a nice point shot past Tristan Jarry to extend D.C.'s lead to 3-0 and chase Jarry from the crease.
With just under a minute left in the period, Ovechkin picked up his eighth goal of the season on the power play to make it 4-0 as Washington ended up dominating the first.
Things wouldn't stay the same from that point on, though.
Capitals Step Off Gas After Impressive Start, Kuemper & Malenstyn Come To Rescue
Though the Capitals got a nice safety net thanks to a strong start, Rickard Rakell was able to make it 4-1 going into the second, and the momentum shifted from there as Washington stepped off the gas.
In the second half of the game, Pittsburgh took over and took advantage of mistakes and slowed down play from the Capitals, who started to play a bit loose and failed to get much going at the other end after four goals to kick things off.
Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel were able to score to bring things to 4-3, and then in the third, it was a matter of survival, as the Penguins outshot Washington 30-11 in the last 40 minutes. They also got two power-play opportunities after some untimely penalties.
Kuemper and the defense were able to take a step back and help D.C. escape with the win. The 33-year-old netminder, who continues to figure things out following a shaky start to the year, stopped 33 of 36 shots (.917) to secure the W.
Also worth noting: Malenstyn was outstanding defensively and stepped up with some big plays, including a huge block late as the Penguins pressed hard to tie the game. He logged 18:36 minutes, the second-highest total in his career, while also leading two strong kills to finish things off.
It didn't have to be as close as it got, but again, Washington found a way to get the job done. Now, it's just a matter of closing things out earlier on and pushing for the full 60 minutes.
Alex Ovechkin Scores 830, Power Play Shakeup Works As No. 8 Stays Hot
Ovechkin had come close to a power-play goal on Saturday but scored just two seconds after that chance ended. On Tuesday, he picked up his 302nd career power-play goal, and a lot of it was thanks to a change in formation on the man advantage.
The Russian moved from his office and changed sides, working the right point higher up as time elapsed. When he got his chance, he fired a shot from John Carlson's territory that beat Alex Nedeljkovic.
It marked Ovechkin's third goal (technically, fourth, if you count his disallowed goal in Saturday's loss to the Nashville Predators) in six games as he continues to work toward turning things around following a slow start. Nedeljkovic is also the 172nd goaltender No. 8 has scored on in his career.
Ovechkin needs just 65 more goals to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goals record.
Dylan Strome Benched In Third
Also worth noting: Dylan Strome played a season-low 11:30 minutes after beign demoted to the third line with Matthew Phillips and Hendrix Lapierre, and he did not play in the final 14:43 minutes of regulation.
It is unclear what the reasoning was for the benching, though it was a tight game with the team also needing to kill two peanlties and trusting Evgeny Kuznetsov more with top-line minutes. Strome still picked up an assist in the win, his second in as many games.
Top Shelf Takes
- Ovechkin, Malenstyn and Aliaksei Protas all led with four shots on the night.
- Sandin picked up two assists and now has helpers in three of his last four games.
- Fehervary had a team-leading five hits.
- Strome, who picked up his second