The Washington Capitals want to erase their ending to the first half of the NHL season as quickly as possible, and they did just that on Friday night, in their first game after the All-Star break. Evgeny Kuznetsov recorded a power play goal with 57 seconds left in the third period, giving the Capitals a 4-3 win over the first-place Calgary Flames. The victory snaps the Capitals' seven-game losing streak, and they did it without star Alex Ovechkin, who was serving a one-game suspension for skipping the NHL All-Star Game in San Jose last weekend. Ovechkin leads the NHL with 37 goals, and this absence snaps his streak of 214 games played in a row, which began back in October of 2016.
The Capitals also lost center Lars Eller to a lower-body injury just six minutes in to the game, but the likes of Nic Dowd and Dmitirij Jaskin found the back of the net, as did Tom Wilson in the win. The Capitals had struggled on the power play before Kuznetsov's game-winner, as the 10th-ranked power play was 0-for-3 heading in to the third period. Mikael Backlund's holding penalty was the deciding factor late, helping the Capitals get the win it what was their first of six consecutive home games.
Backlund, Elias Lindholm, and Garnet Hathaway all scored for the Flames, who will visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon. The Capitals, who are overcoming their longest losing streak since the 2013-2014 season, will host the Boston Bruins that same day.
The Capitals also lost center Lars Eller to a lower-body injury just six minutes in to the game, but the likes of Nic Dowd and Dmitirij Jaskin found the back of the net, as did Tom Wilson in the win. The Capitals had struggled on the power play before Kuznetsov's game-winner, as the 10th-ranked power play was 0-for-3 heading in to the third period. Mikael Backlund's holding penalty was the deciding factor late, helping the Capitals get the win it what was their first of six consecutive home games.
Backlund, Elias Lindholm, and Garnet Hathaway all scored for the Flames, who will visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon. The Capitals, who are overcoming their longest losing streak since the 2013-2014 season, will host the Boston Bruins that same day.
