Harry Lichtman
The Washington Capitals bounced back after a rough performance in St. Louis. They put up a whopping seven goals to beat the Utah Mammoth 7-4 on Thursday night.
Down 2-1 late in the first, Tom Wilson and Trevor van Riemsdyk both dropped the gloves with Brandon Tanev, who had shoved Matt Roy into the boards. That led to Utah scoring on a power play to take a 3-1 lead at the first intermission.
Then, the second period happened and the Capitals woke up.
The last time Alex Ovechkin played at Delta Center, he suffered a leg injury which caused him to miss time. On Thursday, the 40-year-old showed off his vintage side and recorded his 34th career hat trick.
Ivan Miroshnichenko also impressed while slotting in for the injured Ethen Frank. The young Russian scored his first two Capitals goals this season.
Anthony Beauvillier also had a multi-point game as he scored a goal and assisted on Rasmus Sandin’s tally, both in the third.
Next up, the Capitals conclude their three-game road trip on Saturday as they visit Vegas, where they won the Stanley Cup in 2018.
Capitals Analysis
Miroshnichenko opened the scoring two minutes into the game to give the Capitals an early 1-0 lead. However, Dylan Guenther responded with two goals to give Utah a 1-0 lead.
Then, with just two minutes left in the opening period, Roy was shoved head-first into the boards by Tanev. This led to Wilson and van Riemsdyk going at it with the Utah forward.
As a result of the fight, Wilson was given a double-minor for roughing, while Tanev was given just two minutes for boarding. Both players were also handed 10-minute misconducts.
This led to Utah going on a late power play, as Logan Cooley scored to give the Mammoth a 3-1 lead at the intermission.
However, the middle frame is where the Capitals really woke up. Ovechkin was quick to respond just after reaching 1,000 combined regular-season and playoff goals.
The 40-year-old got to the front and redirected a shot from Sandin past Vitek Vanecek to cut the deficit to 3-2. This marked Ovechkin’s first ever goal on Vanecek.
Then, The Great 8 tied it up at 3-3 when he fired a wrist shot from the point. Ovechkin’s two second-period goals gave the Capitals a much-needed spark.
In the third, Beauvillier tipped in a shot from Cole Hutson on the power play to give Washington a 4-3 lead. Minutes later, Beauvillier drove to the net and made Vanacek leave the crease, leading to a pass to Sandin for a point shot towards the net.
Up 5-3, MacKenzie Weegar pulled Utah within one to keep the home team in it. However, Miroshnichenko drove towards the net as his feed to Hendrix Lapierre bounced off a defender and in the net. With the Capitals leading 6-4 midway through the third, Vanecek’s night was officially done.
In the final minute, Ovechkin completed the hat trick by recording an empty-netter. The 40-year-old now has goals in three of his last five games, and needs one more for his 20th 30-goal season.
Capitals Report Card
Team: A
A much better performance for the Capitals than Tuesday’s. They didn’t back down and the offense really showed up.
Alex Ovechkin: A+
Ovechkin showed that he’s still got it with another hat trick to add to his resume. The 40-year-old now has 29 goals this season and 926 on his career.
Ivan Miroshnichenko: A
Miroshnichenko recorded two tallies for his first mutli-goal game of his career. He’s making his presence known while filling in for the injured Frank.
Tom Wilson: A
Wilson was a menace on the ice as he got very physical with multiple Utah players. The 31-year-old dropped the gloves with Tanev and Lawson Crouse and laid out a big hit on Jack McBain. Wilson totaled 21 penalty minutes on the night.
Anthony Beauvillier: A
Beauvillier’s third-period power-play goal helped cap off the Capitals’ comeback. He then assisted on Sandin’s tally minutes later.
