Washington 5, New Jersey 1
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 23, 2013
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District Of Columbia
Referees:
Dave Jackson, Brian Pochmara
Linesmen:
Steve Barton, Tim Nowak
Attendance:
18506
By SportsDirect Inc.
Capitals 5, Devils 1: Captain Alex Ovechkin busted out of a slump with his 11th career hat trick and Braden Holtby made 21 saves as Washington earned a split of its rare two-game homestand against New Jersey.
Troy Brouwer and Eric Fehr also scored while Mike Ribeiro recorded a pair of assists as the Capitals avenged a 3-2 home loss to the Devils on Thursday. Ovechkin, who added an assist after being held off the scoresheet in three straight games, has eight goals on the season.
Ilya Kovalchuk scored the lone goal for New Jersey, which dropped to 2-3-1 in its last six games. Johan Hedberg got the start in place of Martin Brodeur and stopped 21 shots.
Ovechkin finished off the hat trick with a one-timer during a power play with 4:47 left in the contest. Ribeiro sent a pass from below the end line to the left faceoff circle, where Ovechkin was waiting to fire it past Hedberg’s right shoulder for a 4-1 lead.
Ovechkin gave Washington a 2-1 lead at 1:23 of the third period, collecting a long pass on the right side for a wrist shot that beat Hedberg between the pads. Fehr made it 3-1 with a short-handed tally 2:23 later, beating Hedberg to the puck behind the goal before stuffing it into the vacant net.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ovechkin’s hat trick was his first at home since February 2010, and marked his 71st career multi-goal game. … Ribeiro set up Ovechkin’s first goal at 5:20 of the second period, when he drew a pair of defenders before whipping a pass to the captain in the left circle. Ovechkin went down to one knee and blasted the shot past Hedberg. … Devils C Ryan Carter (head injury) missed his second straight game.
Top Game Performances
| New Jersey |
|
Washington |
|
Ilya Kovalchuk 1 |
Points |
Alexander Ovechkin 4 |
|
Ilya Kovalchuk 1 |
Goals |
Alexander Ovechkin 3 |
|
Andrei Loktionov 1 |
Assists |
Mike Ribeiro 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Alexander Ovechkin 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
Eric Fehr 1 |
|
Johan Hedberg .808 |
Save Percentage |
Braden Holtby .955 |
|
Johan Hedberg 21 |
Saves |
Braden Holtby 21 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| New Jersey
|
22 |
1 |
0-3 |
1-3 |
6 |
25 |
| Washington
|
26 |
5 |
2-3 |
3-3 |
6 |
36 |
Upcoming Games
-
Washington will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Capitals have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .364 after a loss.
-
New Jersey will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Devils have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .429 after a loss.
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