Brett Connolly has been doing his best Alex Ovechkin imitation over the past six weeks and it is coming just in time to help defending champions the Washington Capitals gear up for another Stanley Cup run.
Connolly on Tuesday sparked a three-goal second period and the Capitals moved into first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
“I have been playing the best hockey probably of my career right now,” the 26-year-old forward said after scoring his career-best 20th goal. “I just really want to focus on being good going into the post-season. We have a good team and we are right there again. We’re getting close to the level we need to be at.”
Photo: AFP
Since returning from the All-Star break, Connolly has had 11 goals. The only other player on the Caps with that many is Ovechkin.
Connolly snapped a one-all tie at five minutes, 57 seconds into the middle period, redirecting Christian Djoss’ cross-ice pass past rookie goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and into an open net.
“I went right to ‘Juicer’ and gave him a big hug. He made a great play on the goal,” Connolly said. “It’s been a good season. We have a lot of good players and good guys. It’s a good fit for me here and we’ll see what happens in the future.”
Capitals coach Todd Reirden said Connolly has had a strong season.
“Extremely consistent, confident, playing his best hockey,” Reirden said. “He gets an assist as well. It was just a matter of time until he got 20. He has put himself in good spots to create offense and his mind thinks offensively, putting himself in dangerous areas. He’s got a good shot and quick release.”
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson also scored in the second as the Capitals won for the 10th time in their past 13 games. Andre Burakovsky got the other goal and backup goalie Pheonix Copley made 20 saves in winning his sixth straight since the All-Star break.
Washington started the day tied with the New York Islanders for first place in the division, but took over with the win and the Islanders’ 5-0 loss to the Boston Bruins. The Capitals and Islanders each have nine games left in the regular season.
Kenny Agostino scored for the third time in five games for the Devils. MacKenzie Blackwood made 18 saves as the Devils lost to the Capitals for the third time in four meetings this season.
Kuznetsov gave the Capitals a two-goal lead at 12:16, beating Blackwood on a two-on-one break for his 19th goal.
Wilson got his 21st a little more than a minute later with his shot hitting off the rookie goaltender’s pad and going into the net.
Nicklas Backstrom got his 50th assist on the play. The Swede is the only NHL player with 50 assists in each of the past six seasons.
Devils captain Andy Greene said that all three goals were preventable: The first came off a faceoff, the second was an odd-man rush and the last one was a line rush.
“Against that team, their biggest strength, minus their power play, are the chances they create off the line rush,” Greene said. “Just gift-wrapped three of them and that’s all that team needs right there, and they’re able to lock it down.”
The Devils had tied the game with a second left in the first period when Agostino took advantage of a Capitals turnover and beat Copley with a low shot to the corner of the net.
Burakovsky opened the scoring at 2:52 in the first period with a perfect shot from the left circle to the upper corner of the net.
In Tuesday’s other games, it was:
‧ Blues 7, Oilers 2
‧ Flames 4, Blue Jackets 2
‧ Stars 4, Panthers 2
‧ Avalanche 3, Wild 1
‧ Predators 3, Maple Leafs 0
‧ Hurricanes 3, Penguins 2
‧ Red Wings 3, Rangers 2
‧ Canadiens 3, Flyers 1
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS