Sonny Milano scored a goal in his fifth straight game and Charlie Lindgren made 31 saves to lift the host Washington Capitals to a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
Hendrix Lapierre, Michael Sgarbossa and Tom Wilson each scored a goal in the first period and Milano converted a 2-on-1 rush with Aliaksei Protas with 2:36 remaining in the second.
Washington superstar captain Alex Ovechkin notched an assist on Wilson’s power-play goal to move into a tie with Hall of Famer Mark Recchi for 14th place on the all-time NHL points list with 1,533.
Defenseman John Carlson and Protas each had two assists for the Capitals, who improved to 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and completed a season sweep of the Blackhawks. Washington skated to a 4-2 victory in Chicago on Dec. 10.
Tyler Johnson deflected defenseman Jarred Tinordi’s blast from the point to put Chicago on the scoreboard midway through the third period.
Petr Mrazek turned aside 22 shots for the Blackhawks, who returned to their losing ways on the road after snapping a 22-game winless skid (0-21-1) away from home with a 5-2 victory at the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday.
Lapierre deflected Carlson’s shot from the point past Mrazek to open the scoring at 7:01. The goal was Lapierre’s seventh of the season and fifth in his last six games.
Stationed in front, Sgarbossa backhanded the puck past Mrazek to double the advantage 1:44 later for his third goal of the season.
An unmarked Wilson converted a centering feed from Dylan Strome to give Washington a 3-0 lead just under five minutes later. Wilson’s goal was his 15th of the season and second in as many games.
Chicago defenseman Nikita Zaitsev recorded four hits and two shots on goal in his first game since sustaining a right knee injury during a 2-1 shootout win against the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 16.
–Field Level Media
