Capitals Right The Ship With Win Over Devils

Good morning. We suppose all good things must come to an end as yesterday’s poll participants incorrectly predicted Jack Hughes would have the best plus-minus last night.

Alex Ovechkin earned the “W” with a +2 rating, narrowly beating Hughes’s +1.

- Brandon Rubeo & Kevin Allen

Today’s Lineup:

• Capitals rally in the 3rd to beat the Devils

• NHL votes to decentralize Entry Draft

• Canucks prospect Vasily Podkolzin stretchered off the ice

• And a lot more… 👇

Capitals Right The Ship With Win Over Devils

The Washington Capitals used the challenge of facing one of the NHL’s best young teams to get their team pointed in the right direction.

Dylan Strome scored twice to pace the Capitals over the Devils to a 6-4 win that halted Washington’s three-game losing streak. Alex Ovechkin scored his 824th career goal to leave him 70 short of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time league record.

The real hero for Washington may have been goalie Hunter Shepard who made 18 saves to win his NHL debut. Shepard is the fourth Capitals goalie in the past 10 years to win his NHL debut. Ilya Samsonov (Oct. 4, 2019), Vitek Vanecek (Jan. 15, 2021), and Zach Fucale (Nov. 11, 2021) are the others.

New Jersey’s Tyler Toffoli continued his recent surge with two goals and an assist against Shepard. That gives him six goals and seven points over the past three games.

The Capitals had much to like about their game, starting with the fact that they drove New Jersey starting goalie Akira Schmid out of the game with three goals on eight shots.

Also, struggling Washington forward Anthony Mantha scored his first goal of the season.

Slick center Jack Hughes had three assists for New Jersey. Hughes has 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in six games. He is the 10th player in NHL history to record at least that many points through the first six games, and the first to do so since Mario Lemieux (six goals, 11 assists) in 1995-96.

THIS BEAUTIFUL JERSEY AND SO MUCH MORE!

🗳️ NHL teams have voted to decentralize the NHL Entry Draft, similar to the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Some of the reasons for the change include the relative invasion of privacy for GMs, the logistical challenges of having NHL staffs traveling back and forth from the draft, and cost savings. The change is expected to take effect for the 2025 Draft as the 2024 Draft is slated for Las Vegas with rumors swirling that it could be hosted at the new Sphere venue. Read more →

🤕 Vancouver Canucks prospect Vasily Podkolzin was stretchered off the ice last night in the AHL. The 22-year-old 2019 first round pick of the Canucks landed on his head after a big hit by Colorado Eagles defenseman Keaton Middleton who received a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct on the play. Podkolzin was seen convulsing on the ice prompting both teams to scream for medical staff. Thankfully, Podkolzin posted a story on his Instagram shortly after 11 PM with the caption “all good, no worries.” Read more →

Alex Ovechkin sits 2nd all-time with 55 empty net goals. Who holds the NHL’s record for most empty-net goals all-time?

YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS👇

• Wheaties 2-on-1 drill

• 5 deceptive puck retrievals

No surprise: Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL’s all-time record for most empty net goals with 56… but we suspect Ovechkin passes him this season.