Ovechkin powers Capitals to 5-2 win to sweep season series against Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights dropped their second straight game on home ice when the visiting Washington Capitals secured a 5-2 victory Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena, marking the first time the Capitals have won in Vegas in the regular season. Alex Ovechkin recorded a hat trick, and Logan Thompson stopped 40 of 42 shots to help the Capitals sweep the season series against Vegas for the first time. In the first period, Thompson was visibly emotional as he watched his tribute video and saluted the crowd in his return to Las Vegas.

He is now 2-0-0 against his former team. Welcome back to The Fortress, LT! 🐺 pic.twitter.



com/FQ2PprTNMf The Golden Knights got off to another slow start, falling behind by two goals for the second game in a row in a largely ineffective opening frame. A soft tripping call on Tomas Hertl set up the Capitals’ 29th-ranked power play. Washington took advantage of a favorable bounce as Ovechkin’s shot hit Alex Pietrangelo on its way into the net, beating Ovechkin’s former teammate and fellow countryman Ilya Samsonov, who was back in the crease after missing two weeks of action.

Couldn't have asked for a better start #ALLCAPS | @BlueHalo pic.twitter.com/R9YSToHXbb The power-play goal gave Washington a 1-0 lead just under six minutes into the game.

Near the middle of the period, a turnover on a zone exit burned the Golden Knights, as Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun got the puck at the top of the zone and had room to skate. The mobile blueliner made no mistake, ripping one past Samsonov to put Washington up by two. let 'er rip, chych 😮‍💨 pic.

twitter.com/fhZ9gMLVfC The Golden Knights scored a huge goal at the tail end of the period, however, salvaging what had otherwise been a lopsided effort. Brett Howden got rewarded for going to the net after an errant Pietrangelo pass bounced off the end boards and found its way to him in front of a yawning cage.

Howden’s seventh of the year cut the deficit in half with just eight seconds on the clock to make it 2-1 after one. STATS! This was our 11th goal in the final minute of a period so far this year 😁 pic.twitter.

com/6IEa036qHL The Golden Knights had a few good looks early in the second, but Thompson was up to the task. The momentum shifted, though, as Jakub Vrana restored Washington’s two-goal lead at 2:49, beating Samsonov from the slot. 🐍🐍🐍 pic.

twitter.com/umFppevPoS Less than five minutes later, Vegas pulled within one on a delayed penalty. Jack Eichel used a toe drag to get around Connor McMichael at the point and then fired the puck at the net; Keegan Kolesar put home the rebound to make it 3-2 at 7:24.

GOT US WITHIN ONE! 🔑 pic.twitter.com/KTMyiWxiT4 The turning point in the game was when Ivan Barbashev got robbed on the doorstep, which neutralized what looked like an automatic goal.

Ovechkin’s outstanding individual effort on the backcheck prevented Barbashev from slamming the puck into a wide-open net after Eichel set him up with a perfect cross-crease pass. certified goal s̶c̶o̶r̶e̶r̶ saver pic.twitter.

com/uDF4bpJFYr In a two-goal swing, Ovechkin then scored his second of the game after Matt Roy broke up an ill-advised pass and then joined Ovechkin on a 2-on-1. Ovechkin elected to shoot, and he didn’t miss, beating Samsonov with 2:22 left in the period. The #Gr8 's got ✌️ tonight! pic.

twitter.com/z67VbPke2k Though it was a better period for Vegas, a few lapses and some hesitance with shot selection resulted in the Capitals outscoring the home team 2-1 once again, making it a 4-2 game through 40 minutes. Ovechkin had a wide-open look early in the third but fanned on the shot.

From there, however, the Golden Knights carried the play and outshot Washington 25-7. Thompson appeared to be hurt at one point but was able to stay in the game, and he came up with some big saves for the Capitals. Bruce Cassidy pulled Samsonov with 2:34 left, and though the Golden Knights had some extended zone time, the Capitals eventually set up what felt like an inevitable hat trick for Ovechkin.

His 866th career goal put the game away with 37 seconds to go; he is now 29 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record. The loss moves the Golden Knights to 8-2-0 at home and 11-5-2 on the year. There were a few factors that led to the outcome of this game, one of which was a slow start for Vegas.

Playing from behind and chasing the game is not sustainable, and while it worked against Utah the other night, Vegas was unable to pull it off against the Capitals. The Golden Knights had their chances and came about as close as it gets to tying the game, but they never led and trailed for 54:01. Another factor was something that is becoming a common theme: turnovers.

The Golden Knights had 28 giveaways and continue to commit costly turnovers that end up in the back of the net. A lot of them have been related to exiting the zone, and while that is something that can be addressed, it hasn’t been dealt with as of yet. Also, Samsonov did not play particularly well.

This game wasn’t on him, but he didn’t make timely saves, allowing the Capitals to extend their lead three times. At the end of the day, Ovechkin had a true “Great 8” performance with three goals and highway robbery on Barbashev. Getting a stick on the Barbashev chance and then extending Washington’s lead to 4-2 was the ultimate swing Vegas could not overcome despite its best efforts.

Overall, it was a sloppy and choppy game for the Golden Knights, and the Capitals took advantage of Vegas’ mistakes, much like they did in the first game between these two clubs. The effort was there. The Golden Knights threw everything they had at the Capitals in the third period, including 25 shots and nine high-danger chances, but Thompson was able to shut the door.

just really good stuff from LT right here pic.twitter.com/33ZuES3INI The one bright spot was the play of the Hertl line, which was Vegas’ best all night; it was arguably Hertl’s best game at 5-on-5.

The trio of Hertl, Nicolas Roy and Kolesar led 23-15 in Corsi, 14-4 in shots, 9-3 in scoring chances and 5-1 in high-danger chances while managing a 68.99 expected goal share in 15:37, which was more than every other Vegas combination. Ben Hutton left the game after taking four shifts and was ruled out for the rest of the night.

It was the second straight game in which Vegas used 11 forwards and seven defensemen, though that likely will change moving forward. The Golden Knights have a big test ahead of them with a season-long five-game road trip, starting with a back-to-back in Toronto and Ottawa on Wednesday and Thursday. The Golden Knights will also visit Montreal, Philadelphia and Colorado before wrapping up the month of November with a back-to-back against Winnipeg and Utah.

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