Geoff Burke — Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/5a609b24-67e0-40fd-9a1a-221fdf6742b5.jpeg] Geoff Burke — Imagn Images WASHINGTON — As Alex Ovechkin's shot off the face-off found its way into the back of the net, the Washington Capitals felt everything finally click into place. To open the season, Washington had been finding ways to pull out wins as they found their footing to open the season, coming up with victories in tight games. On Friday against Minnesota, the Capitals finally busted out — and it paid off. Ovechkin net his first of the season — also the 898th career goal of his career — and he and Dylan Strome, along with Tom Wilson, shined with multi-point nights as the Capitals surged to a 5-1 victory. Here are the takeawyas as D..C pulled off its fourth straight win. OVECHKIN NETS FIRST OF YEAR AND NO. 898, STROME HAS FOUR POINTS AS FIRST LINE RECAPTURES SPARK Alex Ovechkin had picked up assists in three of the last four games, but was still waiting for his first goal of the year. Then, off the face-off in the third period, Dylan Strome won the draw cleanly back to the captain, who made no mistake and sniped a rocket past Filip Gustavsson. Ovechkin now sits at 898 career goals and continues to look more back in the rhythm of things with each game that goes on. He has four points through the first six games of the season. For Strome, it was about returning the favor, as Ovechkin set him up with a nice pass in front earlier in the game for his first of the season. Later in the third, Strome found the net again, cashing in on his own rebound, and he added another assist for a four-point night that put him on over a point-per-game pace to open the campaign. PROTAS & WILSON STAY HOT AS CAPITALS OFFENSE DOMINATES From the moment the puck dropped, the Capitals controlled the tempo and pace against the Wild, getting scoring chances early and often. All four lines seemed to be clicking, the team's neutral zone play was sharp and entries weren't a problem, nor was D.C.'s transition game. Even after the Wild tied things up in the second thanks to ex-Capitals forward Marcus Johansson, Washington kept its foot on the gas as the second line got to work and responded right away. Tom Wilson found Aliaksei Protas by the boards, and his attempt to feed Connor McMichael camped out in front beat Gustavsson clean to restore the lead. Protas now leads the Capitals with four goals this season, and Wilson leads with four assists. Wilson has a team-leading seven points through the first five games of the season, as he got on the board late in regulation with his third of the year. Washington dominated all night long, and ultimately, outshot Minnesota 44-15. BOTTOM-6 STARTING TO CLICK Washington also got a strong showing from the third and fourth lines, finally generating some of the chemistry that it had been waiting to see. Sonny Milano, Hendrix Lapierre and Ryan Leonard, whose line had struggled at times with getting trapped in their own zone and trying to start breakouts, were moving well on Friday, finding the open ice, creating smart plays and getting a handful of high-danger opportunities. All the while, Justin Sourdif, who had a strong showing back on Tuesday, again looked stronger on the forecheck and was able to dictate play and make quite a bit happen on that fourth line with Brandon Duhaime and Nic Dowd. It's exactly what the Capitals want, especially with Pierre-Luc Dubois still on the shelf and the team continuing to evaluate its options at third-line center. CAPITALS STAY DISCIPLINED, SHUT DOWN WILD'S TOP WEAPONS Spending more time on offense ensured that Washington wouldn't have to spend all that much time in its own zone, but a lot of the credit goes to the defense and the team's execution in the neutral zone. The Capitals blue line, featuring Declan Chisholm in for Trevor van Riemsdyk, shut things down and did a good job containing the likes of Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Zeev Buium, among others. Credit also goes to the second and fourth lines that matched up against Minnesota's top-6. Washington also came up big on the penalty kill, taking care of the Wild's power play that has alluded the rest of the league so far this season, limiting the unit to just two shots over two opportunities. POWER PLAY REMAINS WORK IN PROGRESS, GETS ON THE BOARD AGAIN It took some time on Friday, but on the fifth attempt of the night, the Capitals got another power play goal. Tom Wilson tipped John Carlson's point shot late in the third to make it a 5-1 game, his second straight game with a power-play goal. The team has been trying new things and rotating both units and is now 2-for-16 through the first five games of the season.
