The Washington power play has come to life and contributed 2 goals in the first period and the Caps built a 4-0 lead before a couple of late goals by the Panthers. The Caps took the 5-2 win and are within grasp of the Eastern Conference top spot with one more game with these same Panthers to go. The Caps took the early lead when Mike Knuble directed the puck into the net just 1:20 into the contest. Late in the period Jason Chimera deposited a Nicklas Backstrom pass for a 2-0 lead after 1 period. In between the two goals, Semyon Varlamov stopped all 18 shots he faced in his first action since March 29. The second period saw a more defensively focused Washington team who only allowed 8 shots. The Caps extended the lead with some unlikely sources. Sean Collins got the eventual game-winner when he converted a nice pass from Alex Ovechkin. Matt Hendricks got his 9th goal of the season early in the third period. The Caps let down a little at the end when the Panthers scored on the power play and another with the goalie pulled to cut the deficit to 4-2. Alex Ovechkin finished off the scoring with an empty netter. Washington will head to Florida for the back end of the home-and-home series and the final game of the regular season.
Of Note:
Semyon Varlamov stopped 31 of 33 shots for his 11th win of the season.
Alex Ovechkin had another 3-point night with a goal and 2 assists and has registered 29 points in his last 21 games. That's an average of 1.38 points per game which is a little higher than his career average of 1.30 points per game. I think Ovie is definitely back.
Brooks Laich and Nicklas Backstrom each had 2 assists each while Boyd Gordon and Jeff Schultz had 1 apiece.
The Capitals blocked 24 shots in the game led by John Erskine who had 6 on his own.
Sean Collins playing in his third game of the season got his second career goal and his first game winner.
The Caps were 2 for 4 on the power play while the penalty killers were successful on 3 of 4 Florida power play attempts.
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