Capitals Blast Blackhawks, 4-1; Hendrix Lapierre, Sonny Milano Heat Up With Goals in Consecutive Games


Photo: John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals defeated the Chicago Blackhawks by a score of 4-1 on Saturday at Capital One Arena. The win improved the Capitals’ record to 30-23-9 and 69 points on the season. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 29 saves in the victory.

The Lineup

Alex Ovechkin — Hendrix Lapierre — Aliaskei Protas
Sonny Milano — Dylan Strome — Ivan Miroshnichenko
Max Pacioretty — Connor McMichael — Tom Wilson
Beck Malenstyn — Michael Sgarbossa — Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Trevor van Riemsdyk — John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin — Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev — Ethan Bear

Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper

Injuries: Defenseman Martin Fehervary (lower body), right-wing T.J. Oshie (upper body), and centers Nic Dowd (upper body) and Nicklas Backstrom (hip)

First Period

Lapierre (7) would give the Capitals a 1-0 lead at the 7:01 mark on a deflected goal. Carlson (32) and Protas (22) assisted.

With a backhanded shot, Sgarbossa (3) made it 2-0 in favor of Washington at the 8:45 mark. van Riemsdyk (10) and Carlson (33) had the assists.

Wilson (15) would give the Capitals a very nice 3-0 lead on a power play at the 13:36 mark. The assists went to Strome (29) and Ovechkin (30).

Quick Stats

SOG: 12-12

Face-Off Win %: 57% (Capitals), 42% (Blackhawks)

Hits: 10-7 Blackhawks

Second Period

Milano (10) would give the Capitals a late 4-0 lead off of an assist from Protas (23).

Quick Stats

Total SOG: 20-20

Face-Off Win %: 51% (Blackhawks), 48% (Capitals)

Total Hits: 23-11 Blackhawks

Third Period

The Blackhawks would get on the board midway through the frame with a goal from center Tyler Johnson to make it a 4-1 game, spoiling Lindgren’s bid for back-to-back shutouts.

Quick Stats

Total SOG: 30-26 Blackhawks

Face-Off Win %: 56% (Blackhawks), 44% (Capitals)

Total Hits: 25-17 Blackhawks

Notes Through the Game

  • Lapierre has scored five goals in his last six games.
  • Sgarbossa has registered five points (3g, 2a) in 15 games with the Capitals this season.
  • Carlson has now registered six multi-assist games in 2023-24.
  • van Riemsdyk, who appeared in 158 games with Chicago from 2014-17, is now two assists shy of 100 career assists.
  • Wilson registered his fifth power-play goal of the season, which ties his single-season career high (2019-20: 5 PPG).
  • Strome extended his point streak to four games (1g-7a–8p).
  • Strome, who recorded 154 points (60g, 94a) in 225 games with Chicago from 2018-22, has tallied 17 assists in his last 15 games.
  • With an assist on the Capitals’ third goal, Ovechkin (840g-693a–1,533p in 1,406 GP) has tied Mark Recchi (577g-956a–1,533p in 1,652 GP) for 14th place on the NHL’s all-time points list.
  • Milano has scored in five straight games dating back to February 24th.
  • Protas recorded his sixth multi-assist game of the season.
  • Over his last two starts, Lindgren has stopped 70 of 71 shots faced (.986 save percentage).

The Capitals start a five-game Western road trip, clashing first with the Winnipeg Jets on Monday at Canada Life Centre. Monumental Sports Network will have the coverage beginning at 7:30 PM ET.

By Della Young

About Della Young

Della Young is an aspiring novelist and screenwriter who earned a BFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail University in 2021. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Screenwriting from Regent University and is writing her debut novel. Della comes from a family of big Capitals fans and became inspired to start writing for hockey in 2019. Follow Della on X: @dellayoung





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