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WASHINGTON — In their return to Capital One on Friday night after the All-Star break, the Washington Capitals snapped their seven-game losing streak with a hard-fought 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames.
Despite not playing in over a week — and playing without Ovechkin no less — the Caps seemed like a completely refreshed team in the first period. Fourth-liner Nic Dowd scored five minutes into the game, and Washington held the lead for over 10 minutes, when a goal by Calgary’s Mikael Backlund tied it 1-1.
In the last 10 games, the Caps struggled with losing leads at the the end of the period. A last-minute goal by Dmitrij Jaskin turned that tide in their favor, sending the team into first intermission with a narrow lead.
Old sins returned to haunt Washington in the second period, as Tom Wilson’s wrister found the back of the net, only for Garnet Hathaway to score for the Flames less than a minute later, bringing the score to 3-2.
Luckily, Washington held the lead for the rest of the second period.
Things began to come unhinged in the third. After killing off two penalties, the Caps defense allowed a goal by Elias Lindholm to tie the game 3-3 with less than half a period to play.
Kuznetsov’s goal in the final minute was the deciding factor, pushing the final score to 4-3 despite the Flames’ attempt at a last minute tie.
But that wasn’t the end. At the final buzzer, fists flew, there were strong words exchanged and, one line brawl later, the refs pried apart Calgary and Washington to send them to their respective rooms and call it a night.
Even without blockbuster goals, the Caps look well-rested, more physical and more like the team we saw in the first half of the season.
One thing to take away: Lars Eller did not return to the game after a lower-body injury in the second period. There should hopefully be an update tomorrow once he gets evaluated.
The highlight you should see:
HoltBEAST with a stellar save. Caps are still up 3-2.
Stream #CapsFlames here: https://t.co/awH8D5FKG5 pic.twitter.com/MPgQbLqlDA
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) February 2, 2019
Related: Midseason grades, How to Repeat
