With the NHL season on pause due to the coronavirus, we’re digging into the archives for a look back at some great moments in Capitals history.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll present a series of ‘This Date in Capitals History’ features.
We continue with March 26:
March 26, 1996: Peter Bondra recorded a hat trick in the final seven minutes of the third period as the Capitals beat the New York Islanders 7-1 at the Nassau Coliseum.
Bondra was the most recent NHL player to score three goals in the final seven minutes of regulation until Alex Ovechkin pulled the feat this season.
Steve Konowalchuk had a Gordie Howe hat-trick in the blowout win over the Islanders, while Todd Krygier, Sergei Gonchar and Pat Peake also scored in the Washington win. Michal Pivonka chipped in with four assists.
March 26, 2011: Rookie goaltender Braden Holtby made 18 saves and earned his second career NHL shutout as the Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-0 at the Bell Centre. Alexander Semin and Marco Sturm had a goal and an assist each in the Washington win.
Holtby, then 21, was recalled from AHL Hershey the night before the game and only arrived at the team hotel in the early hours of the morning. The quick turnaround didn’t seem to phase him on one of the game’s biggest stages.
Holtby went 6-0-0 in March 2011, with a 1.03 goals-against-average, .964 save percentage and two shutouts. He’d finish the 2010-11 campaign with a 10-2-2 record in 14 NHL appearances.
