Washington 4, Colorado 2
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, April 1, 2016
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Referees:
Ian Walsh, Brad Watson
Linesmen:
Jay Sharrers, Ryan Gibbons
Attendance:
18049
By The Sports Xchange
DENVER -- Alex Ovechkin had a goal, Braden Holtby made 18 saves and the playoff-bound Washington Capitals dealt a big blow to the postseason hopes of the Colorado Avalanche with a 4-2 win on Friday.
Jason Chimera, T.J. Oshie and Jay Beagle also scored for the Capitals, who were sharp as they tune up for the playoffs.
Washington (55-15-6) has already clinched the Presidents' Cup for the NHL's most points but didn't take a night off. The Capitals dominated shots on goal in establishing a franchise record for wins in a season.
Holtby won his 47th game of the season, leaving him one shy of Martin Brodeur's NHL record set in 2006-07.
Semyon Varlamov had 43 saves and Jarome Iginla and Gabriel Landeskog scored for the Avalanche, which missed a chance to gain on Minnesota for the last wild card in the Western Conference.
Not even the return of leading scorer Matt Duchene from a knee injury could help Colorado close the gap on the Wild. The Avalanche (39-35-4) trail Minnesota by five points with four games left. The Wild lost in regulation in Detroit earlier Friday and have three contests remaining.
Colorado tried to make a comeback Friday when Landeskog scored his 20th of the season at 14:21 to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Varlamov came off for an extra skater with 2:25 left and Oshie scored his 25th goal into the empty net with 9.9 seconds left.
After hitting the crossbar twice, being foiled on two breakaways and stoned on a great one-timer, the Capitals scored three times in a span of 5:26.
Beagle finally broke through on Washington's 21st shot when he stuffed the puck between the post and Varlamov's pad at 8:50 of the second. It was his eighth of the season.
Ovechkin made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 13:57 of the second, his NHL-leading 45th tally of the season, and Chimera finished the flurry 1:19 later with his 19th.
Iginla got Colorado on the board with a power-play goal late in the second period, ending a home scoreless drought of 104 minutes for the Avalanche.
Iginla has 609 career goals, one behind Bobby Hull for 16th all-time. It was also his 20th goal of the season, the 17th time in 19 seasons he's reached that mark.
NOTES: Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom was out because of an undisclosed injury suffered Wednesday against Philadelphia. Washington coach Barry Trotz said Backstrom is being held out "for precautionary reasons." The Capitals already clinched the President's Cup for most regular-season points in the NHL. ... The Avalanche went 3-3 with C Matt Duchene out with a knee injury. His return meant RW Jack Skille was a healthy scratch. ... The Capitals have five games remaining after Friday's matchup with Colorado. ... Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon has not started skating and his return before the end of the regular season is in doubt. MacKinnon was hurt on an inadvertent hit during Colorado's win at Calgary on March 18.
Top Game Performances
| Washington |
|
Colorado |
|
Jay Beagle 2 |
Points |
Gabriel Landeskog 2 |
|
Jay Beagle 1 |
Goals |
Gabriel Landeskog 1 |
|
Jay Beagle 1 |
Assists |
Carl Soderberg 2 |
|
Alex Ovechkin 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Jarome Iginla 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Braden Holtby .895 |
Save Percentage |
Semyon Varlamov .935 |
|
Braden Holtby 17 |
Saves |
Semyon Varlamov 43 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Washington
|
47 |
4 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
6 |
22 |
| Colorado
|
19 |
2 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
6 |
32 |
Upcoming Games
-
Colorado will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .436 after a win and .564 after a loss.
-
Washington will play their next game on the road against Arizona. The Capitals have a W/L % of .655 after a win and .864 after a loss.
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