It was all Hendrix and Aliaksei en route to the Capitals' eighth win in 10 games.
WASHINGTON — With Evgeny Kuznetsov out due to illness, the Capitals gave Hendrix Lapierre a jersey to show what he can do at center — and he made the most of it.
Lapierre had a goal and two assists, along with Aliaksei Portas, while Sonny Milano and Alex Ovechkin also scored as the Capitals escaped with a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Here are all the takeaways from the win, which marks the team's eighth in 10 games.
Milano-Lapierre-Protas Line Puts On A Show
The majority of Washignton's offense came from the third line of Milano-Lapierre-Protas, and that trio combined for three goals at critical times en route to the win.
In the second period and trailing 1-0, Lapierre helped navigate the play up ice, and the third line started to generate some pressure. Then at the net front, Protas spun around and delivered a cross-ice feed right onto the tape of Milano, who fired home a sharp-angle shot to tie things up.
Milano, who has been making a statement with his play of late and setting himself apart by going against the grain, has points in four of his last five games. Lapierre also got his first NHL assist on the play.
Minutes later, that trio would strike again. Protas would carry the puck all the way up the wing and call his own number, firing an absolute laser past Merzlikins to put Washington up 2-1.
That goal marked Protas' of the season and second point of the night. Lapierre also got credited with the secondary helper on Protas' tally, giving him his first career multi-point game.
Then, in the third period, after the Blue Jackets pulled within one, Lapierre broke away and went top shelf on the backhand to restore the two-goal lead. It was hisf first goal of the season and first NHL strike since October 2021. His last pro goal had been in Game 7 of the Calder Cup Final.
It wasn't just his point total that stood out, though. The 21-year-old has a strong showing, winning face-offs and going 7-for-11 in the dot while also battling for pucks and moving the play up ice. He registered two shots to boot.
Protas, meanwhile, now has six points in his last five games after starting the year with one assist through nine games.
Ovechkin Gets Career Goal 827, Strome Finally Picks Up First Assist
With both teams playing 4-on-4 and the second period winding down with his team up 2-1, Ovechkin would sneak behind everyone and get to the slot at the perfect time for his fifth goal of the season.
The captain picked up a feed from Dylan Strome from behind the net and fired it past Merzlikins to give his team the two-goal lead going into the third period. It marked Ovechkin's 827th career goal.
Ovechkin started the year with two goals in his first 12 games, and now, he has three goals in his last three outings. He now needs 68 more goals to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record.
Meanwhile, the assist was Strome's first of the season. The 26-year-old leads his team with seven goals this season, and now, he has an assist to go with it. It marked his first helper since April 13, 2023, ending a 14-game stretch without an assist.
Charlie Lindgren, Penalty Kill & Defense Come Up Big At Key Times To Fend Off CBJ
The Blue Jackets put up a tough fight and were in it until the end, and Charlie Lindgren had to come up big in his third start in four games to help his team escape with a win.
It started to pile on in the third. Roughly halfway through the third period, the Blue Jackets were piling on the pressure, and Lindgren was unable to cover the loose puck that had rang off the pipe. As he fell down and received an extra shove from Mathieu Olivier, Ivan Provorov scored to pull his team within one.
The Capitals challenged for goaltender interference, but after video review, the call on the ice stood as a good goal. Washington went shorthanded, and the penalty kill had to go to work to kill off that penalty. Then, with 2:34 left in regulation, it faced another tall task, having to kill off a late penalty against Trevor van Riemsdyk.
Washington's PK remains perfect through the last nine games (23-for-23). Beck Malenstyn was also among the standouts with some big blocks.
Lindgren ended the night with 33 saves on 36 shots, and he's now 4-0-0 with a .954 save percentage over his last four starts.
Edmundson Makes Capitals Debut, Mantha & TVR Return From Injuries
Though Evgeny Kuznetsov was out, Washington still got some good news on the health front, with Joel Edmundson making his season debut and Anthony Mantha and van Riemsdyk also returning from injury.
Saturday was Edmundson's first game since last season with the Montreal Canadiens, as he missed the first 14 games of the year due to a broken hand and subsequent surgery. The 30-year-old was strong in his first showing for Washington, logging 21:42 minutes of ice time, including 2:18 shorthanded.
Meanwhile, Mantha, making his return from a ruptured eardrum that resulted in temporary hearing loss, dizziness, vomiting and stitches, looked strong and was noticeable in the offensive zone. He finished the night with a team-leading six shots on goal.
Van Riemsdyk, playing in his first game since suffering a lower-body injury against the Blue Jackets on Nov. 4, also made some strong plays and got on the scoresheet with an assist.
Top Shelf Takes
- Though they didn't get on the scoresheet, the fourth line was again the most noticeable unit on ice for Washington. The combination of Malenstyn, Nic Dowd and Nicolas Aube-Kubel continues to be the missing piece of the puzzle, providing identity that had been missing to open the campaign.
The trio generated several chances and did a good job of sustaining pressure in the offensive zone, while also drawing a couple of penalties. Malesntyn especially stood out, using his speed to get to the interior and create some grade-A opportunities.
- Washington's power play continues to struggle and went 0-for-2 on the night. The team has not struck on the man advantage since Oct. 27 against the Minnesota Wild and has gone 0-for-21 over the last eight games. Overall this season, it is 3-for-43 (6.9 percent, 32nd in the NHL).
- Lucas Johansen logged 7:10 minutes of ice time. It wasn't so much benching, but. result of game flow.
- Rasmus Sandin led all skaters with 24:42 minutes of ice time against Columbus on Hockey Fights Cancer night. He had purple tape on his stick in support of his mother, who fought the disease.