Photo: Twitter: @Capitals
The Washington Capitals fell to the New York Rangers, 5-2 Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena. Dylan Strome scored his 19th goal of the season and Aliaksei Protas notched his 4th tally of the 2022-23 campaign in the loss. The defeat drops the Capitals record to 34-34-9 (77 points) on the season.
STARTERS
Darcy Kuemper (21-24-6, 2.75 GAA, .912 sv%) got the start in goal for the Capitals. Igor Shesterkin (34-13-7, 2.53 GAA, .914 sv%) got the nod for the visiting Rangers. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:
Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano — Nicklas Backstrom — Aliaksei Protas
Conor Sheary — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Craig Smith
Anthony Mantha — Nic Dowd — Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary — John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin — Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev — Matt Irwin
Darcy Kuemper
Mitchell Gibson
Capitals goaltending prospect Mitchell Gibson was signed to an amateur tryout agreement (ATO) prior to today’s game. Charlie Lindgren was out due to illness. T.J. Oshie and Trevor van Riemsdyk were out due to injury.
FIRST PERIOD
The Rangers opened the scoring with 6:43 remaining in the first frame. K’Andre Miller (9) notched the tally on a rebound following a Kuemper save on Vincent Trocheck.
K’Andre Miller tucks Trocheck’s juicy rebound past Kuemper to open the scoring up for the Rangers!#NYR pic.twitter.com/89yuHUmroJ
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) April 2, 2023
The Rangers quickly made it 2-0 just over two minutes later. Alexis Lafreniere added the Rangers second tally at 15:19 of the first period.
Slick goal from Lafrenière, set up by Chytil. The Kid Line’s found their footing again pic.twitter.com/EsSpESku57
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 2, 2023
That was it for the first frame. The Rangers led in five-on-five shot attempts, 13-11. The Capitals led in high-danger chances, 4-3 and xGF .75 to .61.
SECOND PERIOD
The Rangers made it 3-0 early in the middle period on Kaapo Kakko‘s 16th goal of the season, 60 seconds into the second period.
GOAL: Kappo Kakko scores his 16th Goal of the Season Vs. The Washington Capitals. Assisted by Filip Chytil & K’andre Miller. pic.twitter.com/qj0pfts6zp
— x – New York Rangers Goals & Info (@NYRangersGoals) April 2, 2023
The Capitals finally answered with a tally from Dylan Strome (19) at 13:23 of the second period. Alex Ovechkin (31) and John Carlson (16) had the helpers.
Dylan Strome banks one home off of Shesterkin from below the goal line to bring the Capitals back within 2!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/Lgzkkkiirq
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) April 2, 2023
And that was it for the second period, with the Rangers holding a 3-1 lead. The Rangers led in five-on-five shot attempts 16-15 in the middle frame and led 29-26 after two periods. The Capitals continued to lead in high-danger chances, 9-7. The Rangers lead in xGF 1.58 to 1.4 and faceoffs, 55-45%.
THIRD PERIOD
The Rangers stretched their lead to 4-1 on Vladimir Tarasenko‘s 17th goal of the season just 5:53 into the final frame.
What a snipe by Tarasenko 🔥 pic.twitter.com/cUQbtACoUf
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 2, 2023
The Capitals cut the Rangers lead to 4-2 on Aliaksei Protas’ fourth goal of the season at 11:44 of the third period. John Carlson (17) and Nicklas Backstrom (12) had the assists.
Aliaksei Protas tallies through a huge scramble in the crease for his 4th goal of the year, Capitals within 2!#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/Kt7HolW4T6
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) April 2, 2023
But the Rangers quickly answered with a power play goal to restore their three-goal lead. Mika Zibanejad Notched the Rangers fifth marker at 14:14.
The refs were entirely uninterested in a Tom Wilson vs. Barclay Goodrow fight#ALLCAPS | #NYR pic.twitter.com/t3GPiyjCbG
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) April 2, 2023
Alex Ovechkin was assessed a double minor and 10-minute misconduct for a series illegal hits with the stick late in the game. He was upset over a previous hit up high.
That would be the final.
SHAVINGS
- Dylan Strome scored his 19th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 3-1. With the goal, Strome (19g-39a–58p in 76 GP) has established a new single-season career high in points (previously 2018-19: 20g-37a–57p in 78 GP w/ Arizona & Chicago).
- Alex Ovechkin recorded the primary assist on Strome’s goal, his 31st assist of the season. Ovechkin has recorded 12 points (6g, 6a) in his last 10 games.
- John Carlson recorded the secondary assist on Strome’s goal, his 16th assist of the season. Carlson has recorded four points (1g, 3a) in five games since returning to the Capitals’ lineup on March 23.
- Aliaksei Protas scored his fourth goal of the season to make it 4-2. Protas, who scored three goals in his rookie season in 2021-22, has established a new single-season career high in goals.
- John Carlson recorded the primary assist on the Capitals’ second goal, his second assist of the game. Carlson’s 26 points (9g, 17a) in 35 games this season rank tied for second among Washington defensemen.
- Nicklas Backstrom was credited with the secondary assist on Protas’ goal. Backstrom has recorded three points (1g, 2a) in his last five games.