The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans.
The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game.
“We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said after his team won its sixth game in a row. “You know you’re going against some elite players on the opposite side, and we’ve been watching what they’ve been doing. You’re following them in the standings, watching them on the highlights and when you have a game like that, exciting for the fans, not so much for the coaches.”
Photo: AP
Goalies Connor Hellebuyck and Logan Thompson had some big saves throughout at either end of the ice. Each had 25 saves, or the game could have been a double-digit vintage throwback to hockey from the 1980s.
“The caliber of hockey tonight was high, and they were all over us,” said Capitals winger Tom Wilson, who scored his 21st goal of the season.
Washington erased a two-goal third-period deficit when Ovechkin scored with 7 minutes, 39 seconds left in regulation and set off “Ovi” chants. The moment might have been the loudest Capital One Arena has been all season.
“Two best teams playing, and it was a battle,” Ovechkin said. “It was a hard game at both ends.”
Elsewhere, the New York Islanders pipped the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in overtime, the Toronto Maple Leafs survived the Edmonton Oilers 4-3, the Ottawa Senators devastated the Minnesota Wild 6-0 and the Boston Bruins outplayed the New York Rangers 6-3.
The Pittsburgh Penguins blanked the Nashville Predators 3-0, the Florida Panthers dominated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1, the Los Angeles Kings topped the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 and the Detroit Red Wings doused the Calgary Flames 3-1.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS