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
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
RSS