Caps finish season-long road trip 3-2-1 to stay afloat in East originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Capitals are headed home after beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 on Wednesday to conclude their season-high, six-game road trip that saw the team travel for 12 straight days. They went 3-2-1 on the trip, pulling their season record up to 12-12-4 to reach the .500 mark for the first time since they were 7-7-2 on Nov. 11.
Washington got off to a rough start to the trip, finding itself on the wrong end of a Jack Hughes highlight reel as he recorded a hat trick and Vitek Vanecek got the win in a 5-1 decision in favor of the New Jersey Devils. But after taking three days to regroup, the Capitals responded with a dominant performance in a 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
On Thursday, the Capitals threatened to start a winning streak jumping out to a 2-0 lead but lost to the Seattle Kraken in stunning fashion. The Kraken tied the game with under three minutes left in regulation before winning it seven seconds into overtime. Still, the Capitals walked away with a point, which proved to be critical with how things went in Calgary.
The Capitals finished the first period tied 1-1, but everything fell apart from there as the Flames took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish and Washington lost both defenseman Martin Fehervary and goaltender Darcy Kuemper to upper-body injuries. Fehervary landed on Injured Reserve, joining seven other players on the shelf.
Kuemper managed to avoid IR, but he wasn’t able to go in either of the final two games on the trip. That paved the way for Charlie Lindgren to get back-to-back starts and he took full advantage, leading the Capitals to consecutive regulation wins over the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers.
Though they both ended in victories for the Capitals, the last two games couldn’t have been more different. They beat the Oilers behind 50 shots on goal, dominating puck possession and not allowing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to do much damage against them. Washington then engaged in a slugfest with the Flyers, spending a lot of time battling for the puck in the neutral zone before a couple of Alex Ovechkin empty netters sealed the game.
Finishing the trip down eight players due to injury, the Capitals still managed to get through the crucial stretch with a winning record. They now sit with 28 points toward the standings, one back of the New York Rangers for fifth in the Metropolitan Division and three behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second Wild Card spot in the East (with three teams between them).
Washington’s time on home ice will be short-lived; the team is right back on the road for two games after Friday’s matchup with the Kraken. But after that, the Capitals will play nine of their next 12 games at Capital One Arena.
Over a third of the way into their season, the Capitals stayed afloat in the Eastern Conference playoff race with their performance on the road trip. As they get players back off IR and into the lineup, they’re in position to make a push down the stretch if they can continue to build off the momentum they found traveling across the continent.
