On a night in which he was honored by the organization he has spent the last 21 years playing for, you knew Alex Ovechkin was going to score, and he did. Two other recent hot hands, John Carlson and Jakob Chychrun, also kept their own personal heaters going with goals on Wednesday, but it was Connor McMichael’s third-period breakaway goal that supplied the difference in the Caps’ 4-3 win over Winnipeg at Capital One Arena on Wednesday night.
Charlie Lindgren won his third straight start with an 18-save effort in the Washington nets, and he refused to give up a goal that would result in a lead change, a hallmark of Caps goaltenders these last couple seasons.
Wednesday’s win was Washington’s fifth in its last six games, and it’s the sixth in the last seven in which they’ve pulled a point (5-1-1). With one game remaining in a span in which they play seven of eight games at home, they’re 4-1-1 in the first six of those home contests.
“I think we've just flipped it from that stretch that we had after the start, where now we're we're finding ways to win games,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery of his team’s recent run of success. “I thought for large stretches we weren't great tonight; I’d probably call it 30 or 40 minutes we were we were solid and controlling play, putting pucks to good spots. We had some good [offensive] zone sequences, and sort of fell in the second; for probably the second half the second it got really sloppy.”
Following a stirring tribute to Ovechkin in which an octet of hockey players inspired by The Great Eight joined him and his family on the ice, the Caps came out with some jump and went up by a couple of pucks in the first period.
For the sixth time in as many games, the Caps scored the game’s first goal before the seven-minute mark of the first period on Wednesday against Winnipeg.
Coming off a game in which Washington got four of its five goals from the blueline on Monday against Columbus, the back end was again prominent with its offensive prowess against the Jets.
Tom Wilson grabbed a loose puck in Washington ice and carried along the right wing wall into Jets territory. Before reaching the top of the right circle, he put a feed to the middle for Carlson, who was driving the center lane. The veteran blueliner wound up and fired a clapper to the back of the net for a 1-0 Washington lead at 6:38 of the first period.
Less than eight minutes later, the Caps doubled that advantage when Chychrun put some air under a wrist shot from the point, and it caught iron and then twine to make it a 2-0 Caps lead at 14:21.
Washington couldn’t get out of the first unscathed, however. After Anthony Beauvillier won a defensive zone draw back to Carlson, the blueliner’s intended feed was picked off down low by Kyle Connor, and he quickly fed Gabe Vilardi for a tap-in at the top of the paint, halving the Washington lead to 2-1 with 21.9 seconds left in the first.
Connor, Vilardi and their center Mark Scheifele proved to be a handful for Washington on this night; the trio accounted for all three Jets lamplighters.
Winnipeg opened the second period on a carryover power play, and it cashed in to square the score at 2-2. After working the puck around the Washington end for the better part of a minute and a half, Josh Morrissey put a shot to the net, and Vilardi tipped it past Lindgren for his second of the game at 1:24.
Ovechkin made the fans erupt with joy when he restored the Washington lead at 5:22 of the second. During an offensive zone shift, Matt Roy grabbed a loose puck in the slot ahead of a Winnipeg defender, and he kept the shift alive by putting it to the left half wall. Ovechkin put a stick on it and then whirled and whipped a shot with elevation – Dylan Strome had to duck to avoid it – toward the net, and it found purchase just under the bar for a 3-2 Caps lead.
The Caps’ captain again displayed why he could probably fall out of bed in the middle of the night and find the net while blindfolded. He just knows where it is, and it was absolutely appropriate that he netted No. 908 on his special night.
“Obviously, a great night, emotional night for me, for my family,” says Ovechkin. “And obviously, thanks for this organization too, to give me that opportunity to play so many games, and obviously my team too, for goal 900. And obviously the fans support us tonight, too, you can see how many, how many fans, how many kids were there.”
Ovechkin’s 11th goal of the season was also his 11th in his last 11 games against the Jets. He also baptized a new netminding victim in the process; Jets goalie Eric Comrie was making his first career appearance against Washington on Wednesday, and he became the 186th unique netminder to yield those 908 goals to The Great Eight.
The Caps had some strong offensive zone shifts in the second, but Ovechkin’s goal was all they could muster. At the other end, they held the Jets without a shot for just over 11 minutes.
When Scheifele broke in alone on a lonely Lindgren, the plucky netminder was ready. He made his best stop of the night to deny Scheifele’s backhander from the top of the paint, and he quelled another Winnipeg uprising when he gloved down Kyle Connor’s shot from the left dot soon after.
“That line, tip of the cap,” marvels Lindgren. “I mean, that line is an absolute handful. They're as good as we've seen, probably as good as we'll see all year long. It felt like every time they were on the ice something was happening. I saw Scheifele coming in with a lot of speed, and I just tried to square up and stay as patient I can. And yeah, fortunate to make the save.”
The Scheifele trio accounted for a third of Winnipeg’s 21 shots on net and nearly as many – 17 of 60 – of its shot attempts.
Starting the third period on the power play, Washington couldn’t give Lindgren any additional breathing room. But Connor McMichael handled that detail all by himself, executing a dazzling swipe and snipe sequence.
At the Washington line, McMichael picked the pocket of Jets defenseman Elias Salomonsson, who was making his NHL debut against the Caps. McMichael then tore off on a breakaway, beating Comrie with a deke and a backhander to make it a 4-2 contest at 5:25 of the third.
“I just saw the [defenseman] bobble it, and then the opportunity kind of just presented itself for a breakaway,” recounts McMichael. “And I think I was just coming in with so much speed, I was able to beat him to that back post, and thankfully, I was able to put it in.”
McMichael’s goal was big, but it became bigger when Scheifele struck from the top of the paint at 15:11, pulling the Jets to within a goal at 4-3.
The Caps played well defensively the rest of the way, limiting the Jets’ looks for the most part, but Lindgren still needed to make a trio of late stops – all of them from in tight – to secure the win.
“We knew obviously there was a lot of emotion in the building,” says Jets coach Scott Arniel, a former Caps assistant coach. “Long ceremony, and their [defense] got involved early, and we knew that was going to be part of the game plan. But that was a big goal at the end of the first and a big goal at the start of the second to get us back in it.
“There were a lot of good things out there that happened. We’re in a funk right now, and we’ve got to find ways. We’re doing a lot of good things; our mistakes – if they happen – are going right into our net. But we battled right to the end. We’ve got to find a way to get some secondary scoring.”
Another Ovechkin tribute, another Ovechkin goal, another Washington win. And another really cool moment at the end of warmups when sons Sergei and Ilya joined their proud papa on the ice and took some shots on Logan Thompson before posing for some memorable photos by the Washington bench.
“Yeah, that’s a pretty cool moment,” says Ovechkin. “They’re young right now, but they’re going to remember this for the rest of our lives and they’re going to show this to their kids. Yeah, it’s a special moment.”
Ovechkin has given us all many of those over the last 20-plus years, and so much more. It was great to see him enjoying the tribute and lighting the lamp, yet again.
“It's unbelievable,” says Carbery. “What a great ceremony to celebrate him with his family and teammates, and I just had so much time and appreciation for the way the organization [did so]. I had no idea that was going to happen with all those youth hockey players coming out, and what a special way to really tie a bow and show his impact on this community, and what he's done for the sport of hockey in the DMV, and to have those quotes and all the kids that wear number eight because of him from the local programs.
“That was pretty special, and I think [Ovechkin] will reflect back on that. The goals and everything he's accomplished as a player are, you know, astronomical, right? But then you think about which goes so much deeper than the goals and assists and the Stanley Cup. It's the impact he's had on thousands of people's lives, because they're now driving to hockey rinks with their little ones and sharing, sitting out in the parking lot with teammates, and all the different [things] that this great game has given so many people that don't get anywhere near the National Hockey League, but they just love the game of hockey and spend time at the rinks with other people.
“What a special ceremony it was, and for him to score, you could have called that for sure. Those things happen. He always finds ways to have an impact on the game when it's a big night or an important moment, and tonight was no different.”
