Washington Capitals – Detroit Red Wings – 4:3 Overtime
“I think at this point in the season every match is like play-offs. This is our personal play-offs right now. And this match was especially big because they (rivals – socialbites.ca) are very close to us in the rankings. But the next match is the same “It will be extremely important,” he said. described After the game against Detroit, Washington center Nic Dowd addressed the situation.
The match in the US capital was indeed key in the fight to reach the play-offs, with Washington and Detroit desperately fighting for second place in their conference’s wild-card zone, the final Cup spot in the East. The insane form that Spencer Carbery’s side have achieved allowed them to beat the Red Wings a few days ago.
Alexander Ovechkin and his teammates have won five of their last six games, losing only to Toronto in their next game.
This match was very hot. In the first period, the game continued with a draw and there were not many position chances, but the advantage of the “red wings”, who really wanted to return to the play-off field, gradually began to emerge.
However, at the beginning of the second 20 minutes, the home team managed to make a perfect positional attack, and the crowning glory of this was Daoud’s mid-range shot after Nick Jensen’s pass. Detroit goalkeeper Alex Lyon could not see the shot due to traffic and could not handle it.
True, this only angered the Red Wings and they had a very strong period afterwards, eventually putting up 20 shots on goal defended by Charlie Lindgren. Alex DeBrincat quickly equalized and in the final minute of the half, David Perron sent off Belarusian forward Alexei Protas for high sticking.
Washington had a dismal record in games this season; Carbery’s team fell behind after two periods: five wins against 23 defeats and a further five losses in extra time or penalties.
But the capital started the decisive period perfectly. Just 35 seconds after kickoff, Connor McMichael waited for a rebound at the far post and sent the puck into the goal, and four minutes after the throw-in, Dylan Strome, the team’s best sniper, finished the game in the visiting zone. After defender John Carlson’s shot from the blue line, he hit the net with an awkward hand.
Washington was unable to maintain its advantage during the regulatory period. With five minutes remaining, the Caps forgot about Patrick Kane between faceoffs and he fired a signature DeBrincat pass into Lindgren’s goal.
However, the home team managed to win despite extra time. And the Carlson-Strome pairing worked again, only this time the defender deliberately passed the ball onto the forward’s stick and gracefully slotted the puck over the helpless leaping Lion’s trap and into the net for his 25th goal of the season.
Strome extended his scoring streak to five games and already scored 9 (3+6) points, but Ovechkin, who scored in the last five games, on the contrary, left the ice without making an effective move this time. At 22:28 the captain had four shots on ice, two strong moves and +1 utility point.
With his 468th career goal, Patrick Kane passed Pat LaFontaine for sixth place in goals among US forwards in the regular season.
Washington is two points ahead of Detroit, having played one game less. Further down the line, the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders sit five and six points behind the Caps, respectively. At the same time, the first played two more games, and the “islanders” played the same 71 matches as the “capital”.
New York Rangers – Philadelphia Flyers – 6:5
The Rangers’ dramatic swing game victory over Philadelphia turned out to be highly symbolic. The New Yorkers lost by a score of 0:2 during the match, they struggled and then constantly went ahead, but in the end they allowed themselves to catch up in regulation time, but still pinned down their opponents in extra time.
The win was the 800th of Peter Laviolette’s coaching career, having made 1,502 appearances, and was the fourth-fastest result in the world’s strongest league. A total of seven mentors reached this milestone.
At the same time, the Rangers, who topped the entire league in the regular season, became the first team to officially guarantee a place in the Stanley Cup this season.
Russian striker Artemy Panarin, who assisted his team’s three goals, crossed the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. The striker has 102 (43+59) points in this championship with +16 utility points.
Panarin became the seventh player in Blueshirt history to score 100 points in a season. And a first since Jaromir Jagr, who scored 123 points in the 2005/06 season.
Other matches
Florida Panthers – Boston Bruins – 3:4
Pittsburgh Penguins – Carolina Hurricanes – 4:1
Toronto Maple Leafs – New Jersey Devils – 3:6
Nashville Predators – Vegas Golden Knights – 5:4 OT
Winnipeg Jets – Edmonton Oilers – 3:4 Overtime
Chicago Blackhawks – Calgary Flames – 3:1
Colorado Avalanche – Montreal Canadiens – 1:2
Arizona Coyotes – Columbus Blue Jackets – 6:2
Seattle Kraken – Anaheim Ducks – 4:0
San Jose Sharks – Dallas Stars – 3:6