Washington Capitals Win Eighth Straight Game Beating Chicago Blackhawks in OT

Before another sell out crowd and national TV audience, the Washington Capitals defeated the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3 in overtime today.

The win extended Washington's winning streak to eight games, a season high.

The two teams did not disappoint and neither deserved to lose today but only one team can earn the second point. The Caps and Hawks played another entertaining game reminiscent of the one they played almost a year ago to the day on National TV.

In that game the Caps fell behind 3-0, lost Alex Ovechkin to a game misconduct for hitting Brian Campbell from behind and still managed to win 4-3 in overtime on a Nicklas Backstrom goal.

Ironically, without Backstrom today, his replacement Marcus Johansson set up the game winner in overtime and has filled in more than nicely during Backstrom's absence.

The Capitals played hard right from the opening draw today but for the sixth time in the past seven games allowed the first goal. The caps have now surrendered the first goal in a whopping 60 percent, or 42 out of 70 games this season. Unbelievably they have now won 22 of those contests.

Chicago's Nick Leddy slapped a shot past Caps starter Braden Holtby for the 1-0 lead. Holtby did not seem to see the puck until the very last minute and was unable to recover.

The situation seemed to get a little worse for the home team when less than two minutes after Leddy’s goal, the Hawks found themselves on the power play after Marcus Johansson got the gate for hooking.

The Hawks had not scored a power play goal in their last four games (0-10) and were already 0-1 on the day when their second opportunity arose.

Working well with the extra and creating chances, Chicago seemed to finally be settling in on the power play.

Patrick Sharp lazily mishandled a loose puck that bounced off the sideboards, the puck skipped past Sharp and out of the zone. The Caps' Boyd Gordon raced to catch up with the loose prize, eventually gathering it just inside the Blackhawks zone.

Closing from the left wing was Hawks defenseman Brent Seabrook but before he could make a play, Gordon fired a 15 foot slap shot that beat Hawks starting goalie Corey Crawford, stick side. The shorthanded marker was Gordon's third of the year and the seventh time this season the Caps netted a shorthanded marker.

The teams played scoreless hockey with Holtby and Crawford making sure the game stayed tied until the Caps power play continued its resurgence late in the period. The Hawks Brain Bickell was caught for holding giving Washington their first power play of the game.

Two of Washington's three recent acquisitions were directly responsible for the Caps taking the lead before the first intermission arrived. New Caps defenseman Dennis Wideman and center Jason Arnott were both positioned at the point, with Alex Ovechkin now working down low, a change-up from Bruce Boudreau with the extra man since the last game.

Wideman was able to keep a bouncing puck on bad late period ice from leaving the zone on two separate occasions, preventing the Caps form having to clear out and start over. All Arnott did was score the go-ahead power play goal with .54 seconds remaining in the first period. Arnott's blast from the point hit the left goal post past Crawford and ricocheted into the net.

The goal was Arnott's second as a Capital. He now has points in three straight games. Washington has not lost (7-0) since acquiring Arnott, Wideman, and Sturm.

The goal also boosted the Caps chances of winning the game; Washington was 21-3-4 entering the contest when they scored a power play goal.

The Caps outshot the Hawks 10-9 in the first period and 42-30 for the contest. The 40 shots marked just the seventh time this season the Capitals have registered 40 or more shots in a game. They have broken the 40 shot plateau just twice in the last 37 games.

The two teams started the second period as they had played the first. Fast and furious playing physical hockey but only Chicago would get on the board in their middle frame. 

Thomas Kopecky scored the tying goal and to say Kopecky scored from a bad angle does not give the shot justice. Kopecky was below the red-end line when he simply fired a shot towards Braden Holtby and the Caps net.

Holtby pulled away from the right post prematurely, making the rookie mistake of not following the puck from the tape of the stick until it reached its destination. The puck slid directly behind Holtby and bounced off his backside and into the net.

Kopeck’s goal was the first "soft" goal Holtby allowed in his last 188 shots. The second Hawks goal was the first time in Holtby last six games he allowed more than one tally.

The second period would see the intensity level pick up as the teams combined for 26 shots. Holtby recovered from his mishap and Crawford was outstanding as neither team tallied the rest of the way in the middle stanza.

Part of the reason the Capitals have won eight games in a row is the contribution Bruce Boudreau is getting from all four lines. That trend would continue with the go ahead goal as Brooks Laich scored his 15th of the season.

Friday’s hero Eric Fehr outworked last year’s Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith for the puck behind the net. Once Fehr gained control, he threw a pass in front of the net, which clipped Matt Hendricks stick on the way to Laich. Laich buried the go-ahead goal with 13:39 remaining in the game.

"I just saw the puck come along the boards and I wanted to get good body position," Fehr said. "I took a look earlier to make sure someone was there, but I kind of threw a blind pass but luckily Brooks was there."

"All four lines were going; that's why I didn't shorten the bench," Boudreau said. "They're all contributing. It's a nice thing to see, but that's why you win—when everyone contributes.”

If the Arnott power play goal was a good omen for a Caps victory then Laich's tally sealed the Hawks fate for the day. The capitals were an amazing 32-0-3 when scoring three or more goals in a game this season headed into today’s contest.

Despite playing like an all world center in recent games, Marcus Johansson was called for a very debatable hooking penalty, his second of the game with just 1:50 remaining. Debatable or not the penalty was costly, with the extra man, Hawks coach Joel Quenville decided to pull his goalie with more than 1:30 remaining and the gamble paid off for Quenville.

With just 38.5 seconds to play, the Blackhawks forced OT when Jonathan Toews stuffed the puck past Braden Holtby in a goalmouth scrum tying the game. The Capitals and Holtby never became discouraged and came out play the overtime session determined to earn the second point

Washington held Chicago shot-less in overtime but could not get one of their five past Crawford. That is until Mike Knubble, who was working the front of the net between Hawks defenders Duncan Keith and Chris Campoli, took a beautiful pass Marcus Johansson and patiently went from his backhand to his forehand and flipped the puck up and over the glove of Crawford for the game winner.

“Real heads up play by Marcus,” Mike Knubble said. “It would have been very easy for him to bury his head there and try to jam it through, but I kind of laid my stick to the side and he put it on the tape. It was a very smart play by him.”

When asked about Johansson's play and the late penalty he took which allowed the tying goal head coach Bruce Boudreau said, “I’m sure Marcus wanted to work doubly hard on that shift because he felt responsible for them getting the tying goal even though I thought it was a pretty chintzy call."

Washington's lead in the Southeast Division is now five points as the Capitals only trail the Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia Flyers by a single point.

Lost in the shuffle today was the fact that Alexander Ovechkin's seven game point scoring streak ended but it did not feel like it as Ovechkin was all over the ice delivering big hits and making big plays.

Washington's win today ran their record against the Western Conference to 7-8-1. Washington has just two games left versus the west in the regular season.

If the Caps continue to play hockey like they have been, it is not out of the question to think that Washington could finish the entire season with six more victories against the west.

How do you get six more wins from just two more games you ask? Potential is the only clue I can give, as I let Caps fans figure out this riddle.