Washington 4, Florida 3
When: 7:30 PM ET, Saturday, April 6, 2013
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Referees:
Brad Meier, Justin St. Pierre
Linesmen:
Steve Barton, Matt MacPherson
Attendance:
16886
By SportsDirect Inc.
Capitals 4, Panthers 3: Captain Alex Ovechkin recorded his 12th career hat trick - and second this season - and Braden Holtby turned aside 27 shots as visiting Washington posted its seventh win in nine games (7-1-1).
Mike Ribeiro scored and set up a goal and Nicklas Backstrom notched three assists for the Capitals, who are even in points with Winnipeg - but hold the tiebreaker with two games in hand. The Jets skated to a 4-1 triumph over Philadelphia earlier on Saturday.
Tomas Kopecky scored twice - with the latter tally coming with 33 seconds remaining in the third period as Jacob Markstrom (27 saves) was pulled for an extra attacker. Peter Mueller also scored for cellar-dwelling Florida, which saw its season-high three-game winning streak come to an end.
Ovechkin opened the scoring with 4:15 remaining in the first period after converting a backdoor feed. Ribeiro cleaned up a loose puck following a point shot by defenseman Mike Green to double the scoring just 43 seconds into the second period. Ovechkin was credited with an assist.
Ovechkin solved Markstrom again 1:41 later to give Washington a 3-0 lead and completed his first hat trick since Feb. 23 by converting a tic-tac-toe play with 5:38 remaining in the session. Ovechkin has 13 goals in his last 11 contests.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ovechkin has torched the Panthers, recording 61 points (30 goals, 31 assists) in 47 career contests. The Russian standout scored in Washington's 5-0 victory on Feb. 9, added a goal and an assist in the Capitals' 6-5 victory three nights later and collected a goal and two assists in a 7-1 rout on March 7. ... Washington LW Martin Erat exited the contest after he was slammed into the boards by Florida D Erik Gudbranson during the first period. Gudbranson received a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. ... Florida C Nick Bjugstad made his NHL debut and had one shot on goal in 13:04 of ice time.
Top Game Performances
| Washington |
|
Florida |
|
Alexander Ovechkin 4 |
Points |
Tomas Kopecky 2 |
|
Alexander Ovechkin 3 |
Goals |
Tomas Kopecky 2 |
|
Nicklas Backstrom 3 |
Assists |
Shawn Matthias 2 |
|
Alexander Ovechkin 2 |
Power Play Goals |
Peter Mueller 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Braden Holtby .900 |
Save Percentage |
Jacob Markstrom .871 |
|
Braden Holtby 27 |
Saves |
Jacob Markstrom 27 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Washington
|
31 |
4 |
3-5 |
1-2 |
9 |
29 |
| Florida
|
30 |
3 |
1-2 |
2-5 |
26 |
26 |
Upcoming Games
-
Florida will play their next game at home against Ottawa. The Panthers have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .280 after a loss.
-
Washington will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Capitals have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .526 after a loss.
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