Capitals pull off an exciting high-scoring win after a back-and-forth game.

Last night on October 17th, 2022 the Washington Capitals faced off with the Vancouver Canucks at the Capital One Arena. 

An early penalty against Brock Broeser put the Capitals in a power play situation thirty six seconds into the first period. Washington took full advantage of the extra manpower on the ice, with Ovechkin scoring his first goal of the season (781st of his career). 

However, the Capitals’ lead didn’t last long as the Canucks tied it up with a goal from Elias Pettersson with only 0:08 left in the period. 

Things were looking good for Washington coming into the second period when Lars Eller took advantage of a strange bounce off the boards and put the puck in the back of the net only eight seconds into the period. However, the game quickly took a turn in favor of the Canucks.

At the 8:03 mark of the second period, Tanner Pearson took a shot on goal which was stopped by Keumper, but Bo Horvat banked one in off of the rebound for a 2-2 tie. Vancouver then followed it up eleven seconds later, taking their first lead of the game. 

With 3:16 left in the period, Evgeny Kuznetsov was given a nasty offensive zone high-sticking penalty, which not only led to a power play goal from JT Miller, but also earned him a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

Entering the third period down 4-2, the Capitals persevered. A cross-checking penalty from Bo Horvat put the Capitals in a power play opportunity. Dylan Strome banked the Capitals’ second power play goal of the game, firing up the team for what was going to be a high-scoring third period. At 11:17 Carlson tied up the game, signaling a turn-around for Washington. A beautiful pass from Kuznetsov to Ovechkin was followed by another great pass to Connor Sheary and a tap-in that allowed the Capitals to take back the lead. Then, with 2:59 left in the game, a long shot from Ovechkin to Kuznetsov, followed by another gorgeous long-shot back to Ovechkin allowed the “Great 8” to score his second goal of the night (782 on his career) that solidified a 6-4 win for Washington. 

After a not-so-great start to the season, Washington head coach Peter Laviolette moved Kuznetsov from his usual place on the first-line alongside Ovechkin as a sort of wake-up call to him and the team, insinuating that a first-line position needs to be earned. It appears Kuznetsov got the message, earning himself three assistance points (bringing him to 500 career points) and demonstrating amazing chemistry with Ovechkin. Dylan Strome also really shined during this game and has proved himself to be a great addition to Washington’s line-up and top power play unit.

Sources:

18, | October, et al. “Capitals' Kuznetsov to Have Hearing for High-Sticking Canucks' Burroughs.” Sportsnet.ca, 18 Oct. 2022, https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/capitals-kuznetsov-to-have-hearing-for-high-sticking-canucks-burroughs/.

Silber, Sammi. “Why Capitals Moved Kuznetsov off Top Line, Pp & Why It's a Good First Step.” Washington Hockey Now, 15 Oct. 2022, https://washingtonhockeynow.com/washington-capitals-evgeny-kuznetsov-shifted-down-lineup/.