Caps break losing streak against Flyers with Ovechkin’s overtime goal
Thanksgiving Eve saw the Washington Capitals face off against the equally struggling Philadelphia Flyers at CapitalOne arena tonight. With both teams hungry for a win, the on ice action had varying levels of intensity. The Capitals managed to eke out a win on an overtime goal by Alex Ovechkin, snapping their four game losing streak and extending Philadelphia’s losing streak to eight games.
The home team began very well making use of a strong forecheck game and taking every opportunity to go to the net in the opening minutes. Their momentum was stalled however when the Flyers’ Morgan Frost scored at 5:27. The shot looped in, hit Darcy Kuemper’s glove and shoulder then bounced high in the air eventually landing behing him and into the net. Kuemper was not screened on the play and completely lost track of the puck after being hit by the shot.
After Justin Braun was called for tripping TJ Oshie several minutes later, the Capitals’ power play went to work. Marcus Johansson had apparently scored, but the goal was disallowed after a review clearly showed he had kicked the puck in. While on the same power play, Johansson would tip in a shot from Alex Ovechkin to tie the game at 11:05.
Late in the second period Flyers center Patrick Brown scored on another strange goal. Ivan Provorov launched a backhand shot that hit Brown in the leg. The puck somehow slid in under Kuemper’s pad as he again had seemingly lost sight of the puck completely. The Capitals seemed deflated as they had sent 14 shots on net with nothing to show for it. Keeping with their recent pattern, they retreated from their initially aggressive style by not charging the net as often.
The frustration continued into the third period as the Flyers would actually control the play. The Capitals would only muster six shots. Finally, in the eighteenth minute, Sonny Milano would break through after storming the net and tapping in a deftly timed pass by Evgeny Kuznetsov to tie the game. The stage was then set for another extra session where the Capitals have had little success this season. Fortunately for the home team, they decided to return to their forceful attack, dominating the possession time. Dylan Strome found Alex Ovechkin at his usual left-wing spot by the circle where the Capitals captain buried his patented one-timer past goalie Felix Sandstrom at 1:04 into the overtime period.
NOTES–Ovechkin was on the ice for 23:03 for the game. No other Capitals forward had more than 20 minutes of ice time. The goal was Ovechkin’s 10th of the season and 790th for his career. Oshie returned after missing 11 games with a lower-body injury, scoring two assists. The Capitals are scheduled for a game on Black Friday at 2 PM ET against the Calgary Flames.
