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Capitals Blank Arizona, 4-0; Strome Scores Twice vs. Team That Drafted Him

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Photo by @Capitals

The Washington Capitals shut out the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 4-0 at ASU’s Mullett Arena on Thursday night to lift to within one point behind the New York Rangers (who have two games in hand) for third place in the Metropolitan Division and get five points up on the Pittsburgh Penguins (four) for the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Arizona lost nine straight in regulation before a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 27 saves in his first game visiting his former squad as a Capital and earned his league-leading fifth shutout of the season.

Capitals’ Lines at Arizona

Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Sonny Milano — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson
Conor Sheary — Lars Eller — T.J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Garnet Hathaway

Erik Gustafsson — Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Dmitry Orlov — Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev — Martin Fehervary

Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren

Scratched: LW Anthony Mantha, D Matt Irwin

Injured: F Nic Dowd (lower body), D John Carlson (upper-body, missed 12th straight game, out indefinitely); RW Connor Brown (ACL, 44th, indefinite); LW Carl Hagelin (hip, 48th, indefinite)

After Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild, Alexeyev replaced Irwin in the only lineup change.

Arizona’s Lines

Clayton Keller — Barrett Hayton — Nick Schmaltz
Lawson Crouse — Nick Bjugstad — Dylan Guenther
Nick Ritchie — Jack McBain — Christian Fischer
Josh Brown — Travis Boyd — Zack Kassian

Jakob Chychrun — Shayne Gostisbehere
Jusso Valimaki — Troy Stecher
Patrik Nemeth — J.J. Moser

Karel Vejmelka
Connor Ingram

Scratched: LW Michael Carcone

Injured: LW Liam O’Brien (upper-body, 17th, week-to-week), LW Matias Maccelli (lower-body, 13th, week-to-week), LW Andrew Ladd (knee, 45th, entire season)


First Period

Scoring

3:03, 1-0 Washington: Strome scored on a tip off of Orlov’s shot off the faceoff. It was his second straight game with a goal and 10th of the season.

Aube-Kubel laid a huge hit.

Shots: 7-7


Second Period

Scoring

17:32, 2-0: Milano snapped one past Vejmelka after getting a feed from Wilson. Since making his Capitals debut on Nov. 5 vs. Arizona, Milano ranks tied for second on the team in goals (Ovechkin: 24; Johansson/Milano: eight).

18:41, 3-0 (PPG): Wilson tipped in a shot by Orlov in front. Kuznetsov’s 15 power play points (11 assists) rank second on the team (Ovechkin: nine goals, 17 points).

Shots: 20-14 Washington (including 13-7 in the second)


Third Period

Scoring

8:41, 4-0: Strome tipped in Kuznetsov’s feed wide open in the back door after Vejmelka robbed Johansson’s wrister from the slot. Strome’s 11 goals this season are tied with Sheary and Johansson for the second-most on Washington. It marks Kuznetsov’s 376th career assist, passing Dale Hunter for the sixth-most assists in franchise history.

Shots: 32-27 Washington (13-12 Arizona in the third)

Other Notable Stats: Washington went one-for-four on the power play and three-for-three on the penalty kill. They also led 21-19 in hits but Arizona had a 17-7 advantage in blocked shots. Washington had eight giveaways while Arizona tallied 15.

Washington’s five shutouts as a team this season are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for the most in the NHL.

The Capitals improve to 9-1-0 in their last 10 road games dating back to Dec. 5. During that span, Washington has outscored their opponents 43-20.

Next game: Saturday at Vegas Golden Knights (10 PM ET, NBC Sports Washington in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market)

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077





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