Capitals Down Kings, 3-1; Aliaksei Protas Scores Twice

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Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals downed the Los Angeles Kings, 3-1, Sunday evening at Capital One Arena in Washington. The victory improves the Capitals record to 23-8-2 (48 points) on the season.

The Capitals opened the scoring with a tally from Aliaksei Protas midway through the opening stanza. It was Protas’ second goal in as many games. As was the case the previous game against Carolina, the Protas goal gave Washington a 1-o lead at the first intermission.

The Kings tied the game early in the middle frame on a power play goal from Kevin Fiala, But the Capitals regained the lead ten minutes later with a power play goal of their own from Jakub Vrana, his second goal in as many games and gave Washington a 2-1 lead after two periods.

Aliaksei Protas added an empty net goal to make it 3-1 late in regulation. That would be the final.

LINEUP

Logan Thompson (12-2-2, 2.48 GAA, .911 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Capitals. David Rittich (10-7-0, 2.49 GAA, .890 sv%) got the start in net for the visiting Kings. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Andrew Mangiapane — Dylan Strome — Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Aliaksei Protas
Jakub Vrána – Hendrix Lapierre — Taylor Raddysh
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Ivan Miroshnichenko

Rasmus Sandin — John Carlson
Martin Fehervary — Matt Roy
Jakob Chychrun — Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Charlie Lindgren
Logan Thompson

Scratched: Dylan McIlrath, Alexander Alexeyev, Henrik Rybinski (Called up from Hershey on Saturday).

Injured: Alex Ovechkin (fractured fibula), Lars Eller (illness), Sonny Milano (upper-body), Nicklas Backstrom (hip), T.J. Oshie (back).

1ST PERIOD

The Capitals opened the scoring with a tally from Aliaksei Protas (13) at 10:20 of the first period. It was Protas’ fifth goal in the last eight games. The marker was setup by a nice feed to the slot from Pierre-Luc Dubois (19). Connor McMichael (13) started the play with a steal and had the second helper.

And like the previous game, the Protas goal was the only scoring in the first frame. The Kings led in five-on-five shot attempts, 14-13. The Capitals led expected goals for, 0.57 to 0.36.

2ND PERIOD

The Kings tied the game early in the middle frame on a power play goal from Kevin Fiala  (13)at 4:10 of the period. A. Kempe (16) and B. Clarke (16) had the helpers.

But the Capitals regained the lead with a power play goal of their own by Jakub Vrana (6) at 14:18 of the second frame. Pierre-Luc Dubois recorded the primary helper.

The Capitals held the 2-1 lead into the second intermission. The Capitals led in five-on-five shot attest, 14-13, and the Kings led expected goals for, 0.67 to 0.55.

3RD PERIOD

After a mostly scoreless third period, Aliaksei Protas added an empty net goal to make it 3-1, late in regulation.

That would be the final. The Kings led in five-on-five shots, 50-38, and expected goals for, 2.01 to 1.74 for the game.

SHAVINGS

  • For the second straight game, Aliaksei Protas has opened the scoring for the #Caps. That’s his 13th goal of the season, matching the combined total he rolled up in his first three seasons (in 169 games). Today is the Caps’ 33rd game of 2024-25.
  • Pierre-Luc Dubois tallied his 19th assist of the season of Protas’ game-opening goal, extending his point streak to three games (1g-2a–3p). Dubois leads the Capitals in points in December (2g-6a–8p in 9 GP) and has recorded 10 points (3g, 7a) in his last 10 games overall.
  • Connor McMichael was credited with the secondary assist on Protas’ goal, his 13th assist of the season. McMichael, who leads Washington in goals (16), has recorded three points (1g, 2a) in his last three games against Los Angeles.
  • Jakub Vrana scores his sixth goal of the season on the power play to put the Capitals ahead 2-1. Vrana has scored in back-to-back games and extends his point streak to three games (2g-1a–3p).
  • Pierre-Luc Dubois recorded his second assist of the game on Vrana’s power play goal, marking his third multi-assist performance of the season. Dubois has now tallied 12 points (5g, 7a) in 12 career games against the Kings.

By Jon Sorensen

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.



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