Charlie Lindgren made 31 saves and nine Capitals players recorded points in Washington’s 4-0 win over the visiting New York Rangers on Saturday.
The Capitals ended a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) with a dominant performance against the top team in the Metropolitan Division.
Sonny Milano set the tone by scoring just 43 seconds after the opening whistle. Anthony Mantha, Tom Wilson, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored Washington’s other goals.
The four-goal outburst was another sign that the Capitals’ season-long offensive slump may be ending. Washington entered Saturday’s action with the fewest goals of any NHL team, but the Capitals have eight goals in their last two games after tallying only 52 goals in their first 22 games.
Lindgren stopped all 31 Rangers shots for his second shutout of the season. It was the first time he and his brother, Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren, faced each other in an NHL game.
Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad both hit the goalpost for the Rangers’ closest scoring chances, as New York was shut out for the first time this season.
The Rangers took just their sixth regulation loss and are on their first two-game losing streak.
Igor Shesterkin stopped 25 of 29 shots.
Within the game’s first minute, Martin Fehervary sent an excellent circle-to-circle pass through the slot to Milano for the opening goal.
Another quick start to a period led to Washington’s next goal. At 1:43 of the second frame, Mantha was in front of the net to tip in an Evgeny Kuznetsov pass.
Wilson forced a turnover in the Capitals’ end that led to his ninth goal of the season. With Alex Ovechkin acting as a dangerous decoy in a two-on-one rush, Wilson kept the puck himself and buried a snap shot 5:35 into the second period.
Strong forechecking set up the next tally, as Beck Malenstyn won a puck battle behind New York’s net. The pass was sent out to Aube-Kubel in the slot, resulting in his second goal of the season.
–Field Level Media
