Capitals start hot, dominate Blackhawks in Carlson’s return originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals entered Thursday night’s game desperate for a win, especially after blowing a three-goal lead at home to the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets just two days prior.
The home side got exactly what they needed.
Washington jumped out to a first-period lead and never looked back, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-1, in dominant fashion. Star defenseman John Carlson scored once and assisted on another goal, picking up two points in his first game since suffering a scary facial injury three months ago.
After a couple of minutes of uneventful hockey to begin the game, the Capitals broke the deadlock with 12:16 remaining in the period thanks to a goaltending blunder by Blackhawks goaltender Anton Khudobin. With control of the puck in front of his net, Chicago’s netminder attempted to pass it to one of his teammates before slipping. Khudobin’s pass went directly to Conor Sheary, who scored on a wide-open net for one of the easiest points of his career.
The goal marked Sheary’s second goal in as many games, a sight the Capitals certainly were pleased to see after the forward just broke a 21-game scoreless drought. Rust was evident on Khudobin’s part throughout the night, albeit somewhat understandable given Thursday evening was the netminder’s first NHL start since Jan. 15, 2022.
It didn’t take long for the Capitals to extend their advantage over Chicago, either. Just 18 seconds after Sheary’s goal, Evgeny Kuznetsov won an offensive zone faceoff and found Alex Ovechkin, who left the puck behind him for Anthony Mantha to fire at the net. Mantha rewarded his captain, beating Khudobin in the top left corner of the net to double the Capitals’ lead.
Kuznetsov recorded his 40th assist of the year on Mantha’s goal, marking the sixth time he’s accomplished that feat with the Capitals. Only Ovechkin (12) and Nicklas Backstrom (seven) have totaled more 40-assist seasons in franchise history.
The Capitals’ strong start carried over into the second period, as Nic Dowd beat Khudobin for Washington’s third goal of the evening just 1:27 into the frame. Dowd’s goal marked his 25th point of the season, a new career high.
Washington added another goal just a few minutes later on the power play, extending their lead to 4-0 with 11:48 remaining in the period. Nicklas Backstrom was in the right place to clean up a rebound from a Dylan Strome shot attempt for his sixth goal of the season.
Carlson was responsible for the secondary assist on Backstrom’s goal, his first point since returning from injury. The Capitals have won 10 of 12 games this season in which Carlson records at least one assist.
Carlson wasn’t done yet, though, finding the back of the net from the point on the Capitals’ power play to begin the third period to extend Washington’s lead to five.
Capitals’ netminder Darcy Kuemper was exceptional for most of the night, but his shutout bid was ruined early in the third period thanks to a goal from Chicago’s Nikita Zaitsev. Kuemper, who returned to the crease after missing three of the last four games with an upper-body injury, finished with 27 saves (28 shots) on the evening.
With Kuemper back in net and Carlson back on the ice, the Capitals’ defense looked a lot better than it did against Columbus. Washington’s penalty kill unit was exceptional on Thursday; the Blackhawks went 0-for-5 on power play opportunities.
Late in the third period, Ovechkin put the finishing touches on a dominant Washington win with a vintage breakaway goal following a steal. It marked Ovechkin’s 41st goal of the season and gave the Capital One Arena faithful one more moment to cheer for on the evening.
Thursday night’s win gave Washington a clean sweep over Chicago this season, winning both matchups by a combined 13-4 (Washington one the first meeting 7-3). The Capitals (76 points) now sit just four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins (80 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining in the regular season.
