Sanford’s first NHL goal beats Anaheim
League mark tied for consecutive home games with 5-plus goals
WASHINGTON — Zach Sanford has had to wait patiently for his first NHL goal, so it was fitting that as he fired a shot from the right faceoff circle, the puck bounced off Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson, momentarily pausing short of the goal line before trickling past it. Sanford threw both arms up, and the Verizon Center fans mimicked him. Brett Connolly grabbed the puck as a keepsake for the rookie wing, but TV: he won’t have any trouble remembering this moment, scoring the gamewinner in a game tied in the third period. Sanford’s shot lifted the Washington Capitals to a 6-4 win, and they tied an NHL record with an 11th straight game at home with five-plus goals. The mark was originally set by the 1970-71 Boston Bruins.
Sanford’s score is a testament to these Capitals. Andre Burakovsky injured his hand Thursday night, forcing Sanford into the lineup. Plug and play, the fill-in scored and Washington continued on.
With just one game standing between the Capitals and their five-day bye week, coach Barry Trotz told his players to go ahead and pack their bags Friday. He wanted all distractions out of the way before Saturday, the players’ last day of work before heading off on various vacations. The Capitals seemed to pack it in a bit early Saturday night, surrendering a three-goal lead to find themselves in a tied game in the third period.
The Capitals seemed to halt any push by the Ducks with a shorthanded goal in the second period. A shot by Jakob Silfverberg made it a 3-1 game 7:16 into the second period, then Anaheim got a power play roughly three minutes later. But rather than make it a one-goal game on the man advantage, the Ducks lost ground. Daniel Winnik pounced on a loose puck, then raced down the ice, recognizing a tired power play unit. He beat goaltender John Gibson from the left faceoff circle.
But Anaheim’s Hampus Lindholm scored in the last three minutes of the period. Washington challenged that the goal was offside, but the replay was inconclusive, so the goal stood. The Capitals had allowed the Ducks just one shot on goal in the first 10 minutes of the second period before Ryan Kesler pressured Dmitry Orlov into a turnover, then scored on a pass from Cam Fowler to make it a one-goal game.
A breakaway by Ryan Getzlaf tied the game for Anaheim with 8:12 left.