Special teams do the job for victory
WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin collected the rebound off goaltender Jacob Markstrom’s pads and passed the puck to Evgeny Kuznetsov in the slot. Kuznetsov could have shot it, but he instead found Justin Williams, whose high shot from the left faceoff circle completed the tick-tack-toe play.
That goal lifted the Washington Capitals to a two-goal cushion they maintained for a 3-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday to extend their winning streak to four games. This one was delivered by stellar special teams play and then sealed with a productive night by the Kuznetsov line. On a night the team played well defensively, goaltender Braden Holtby made 20 saves for his second shutout.
“We seem to be trending in the right direction,” Williams said. “We’ve won four in a row, but we’ve played better in every game that we’ve won so far.” Controlling possession most of the night when on the ice, the trio of Kuznetsov, Ovechkin and Williams scored its third goal in as many games, in large part because of the improving play of Kuznetsov. His assist on Williams’ third-period goal was his fourth in the past three games and the 100th of his career.
Was Williams surprised Kuznetsov passed up a strong scoring chance?
“The whole arena was surprised,” Williams said. “I certainly wasn’t expecting that, but all of a sudden you have a gaping net. You have to be ready when Kuzy has the puck because he makes plays you don’t necessarily think are coming.”
Ovechkin gave Washington a 1-0 lead 13:46 into the game with his 200th career power-play goal, becoming the 18th player to reach that milestone. That gave the Capitals 10 power-play goals in the past 12 games.
But after the power play was the star of the first period, the penalty kill shined in the second. With Washington clinging to a one-goal lead, the Canucks forced Holtby to make just one save on five power plays. Tuesday, 7 p.m. TV: Comcast SportsNet