WASHINGTON — Hours after getting the call that he was now an Olympic athlete, Tom Wilson took matters into his own hands to help the Washington Capitals past the New York Rangers.
Wilson struck twice and had a fight as the Capitals topped the Rangers, 6-3.
Here are the takeaways:
With Washington and New York tied 1-1 after first-period tallies from Anthony Beauvillier and Vincet Trocheck, the Capitals needed a spark, and Wilson stepped up to provide it.
Wilson was all over the ice, and in the second, threw a huge hit on Noah Laba before crashing the net and finishing off a picture-perfect passing play to restore D.C.s’ lead. It marked Wilson’s 20th goal of the season, giving him his fifth career 20-goal campaign, and he is also one goal shy of 200 now in his career.
The 28-year-old would then answer the bell for his hit on Laba, going toe-to-toe with Sam Carrick. That tilt put the Capitals on the power play as Carrick received an extra two minutes for roughing, and Washington made the most of that chance.
Washington’s power play hasn’t gone the way the team had hoped this season, but on New Year’s Eve, it took a step in the right direction.
The Capitals generated quite a few chances on their opportunities, and ultiamtely, Justin Sourdif got on the board after burying a loose puck off a feed to the front from Alex Ovechkin. It ended a 16-game goal drought for Sourdif, whose last goal came on Nov. 22.
D.C. went 1-for-3 on the man advantage, a step in the right direction. On the flip side, the penalty kill still needs work, as Adam Fox pulled his team within one with a power-play goal from the point late in the second.
After surrendering five unanswered goals to the Rangers just eight days back, Washington knew it needed to lock things down, and Charlie Lindgren played a big part in that.
Lindgren helped lock things down, stopping and also dazzling with a couple of ten-bell saves, including a cartwheel stop on Gabe Perreault on a 2-on-1 opportunity in the final frame.
Then, with D.C. needing some insurance, got goals from Aliaksei Protas and Tom WIlson late to make it a 5-2 game, and Wilson found Justin Sourdif for an empty-netter to make it a 6-3 final and complete the Gordie Howe hat trick.