Calgary, Alberta — Alex Ovechkin scored twice as the Washington Capitals defeated the Calgary Flames 5-2 on Monday night, becoming the third player in NHL history to score 20 or more points in 19 consecutive seasons.
Ovechkin, 38, scored twice on the power play in the second period, giving Washington its third straight win. He joins former Detroit Red Wings forward Gordie Howe (age 22) and Brendan Shanahan (age 19) as the only players to accomplish the scoring feat.
Dylan Strome, Hendricks LaPierre and Tom Wilson also scored for Washington (33-25-9), which moved into second place in the wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Detroit, which was singing as an underdog. I was put on. This is the first time since January 2nd that the Capitals have qualified for the playoffs.
In fact, since Washington's 8-3 loss to Detroit on Feb. 27, the Capitals are 6-3, including road wins at Seattle, Vancouver and Calgary. They begin a four-game homestand against Toronto on Wednesday, Carolina on Saturday and Winnipeg on Sunday before facing the Wings on Tuesday, March 26th.
Kevin Rooney and Mackenzie Weegar scored for Calgary (33-30-5). The Flames finished their four-game homestand with a 2-2-0 record.
Washington goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 34 saves and improved to 18-11-5. He has won five of his last six games and has a .956 save percentage.
Calgary rookie Dustin Wolfe allowed four goals on 32 shots in his third consecutive start, dropping his record to 3-4-1. Wolf had allowed three goals on 67 shots in winning his last two games.
Ovechkin's 20th goal of the season made it 2-0 at 5:58 of the second period. Ovechkin found the back of the net, brilliantly deflecting a hard centering pass from Michigan's Max Pacioretty and scoring it into the top corner. After raising his arms in celebration, Ovechkin immediately looked at Pacioretty and pointed at him, acknowledging the great pass.
A little more than three minutes later, Washington's power play struck again. Ovechkin was placed at the top of the faceoff circle and was stick-cocked. John Carlson slid in a pass and Ovechkin leaned in and fired a slap shot that beat Wolf inside the near post.
Ovechkin had just nine goals in 44 games before the All-Star break, but has scored 12 goals in 20 games since. He increased his own career goal to 843, 51 behind Wayne Gretzky for second place.
The Capitals were helped into the playoffs by a rejuvenated power play. On Jan. 18, Washington had a power play percentage of 13.3%, the third-worst in the league. He went 2-for-3 against Calgary, helping the Capitals hit a power play rate of 29.1 percent, third in the league, over the past two months.
playoff tracker
atlantic ocean
▶ Bruins (95)
▶ Panthers (94)
▶ Maple leaves (85)
metropolitan
▶ Rangers (94)
▶ Hurricane (90)
▶ Flyers (76)
Wildcard
▶ Lightning (78)
▶ Capital (75)
(Top 2 wild card teams advance to playoffs)
▶ Red Wings (74)
▶ Islanders (73)
▶ Sabers (69)
▶ Pittsburgh (69)
▶ Devils (68)
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The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) announced the Player of the Week for the March 16 game, with four student-athletes from three different programs being honored. Logan Pietila (Michigan Tech) was named Forward of the Week and Eric Poekamp (Bemidji State) was named Defenseman of the Week. Ethan Langenegger (Lake Superior State) is the Goaltender of the Week and Max Koskipilti (Michigan Tech) is the Rookie Goaltender of the Week.
Follow CCHA: Instagram | twitter | YouTube CCHA Forward of the Week: Michigan Tech, Logan Pietila Sr. (Howell, Michigan) Pietila led the Huskies to a 4-3 victory over Minnesota State in the Mason Cup semifinals on Saturday, scoring two goals, including the game-winning goal with 9.1 seconds left in regulation time. He also had a game-high nine shots on goal.
CCHA Defenseman of the Week: Father Eric Poekamp, Bemidji State (Brainard, Minn.) Peaukamp helped Bemidji State extend its undefeated record to 11 games (10-0-1) last week with a goal in a 4-1 win over Lake Superior State in the Mason Cup semifinals. He finished the night at +2, recording four shots on goal and one block as a defensive end on the ice.
CCHA Goaltender of the Week: Ethan Langenegger Sr., Lake Superior State University (Kamloops, British Columbia) Last week, Langenegger posted a league-high 34 saves for a .919 save percentage as the seventh-seeded Lakers lost to top-seeded Bemidji State, 4-1. He recorded double-digit saves in each period, including a game-high 14 saves in the second game, helping the Lakers stay within striking distance. CCHA Rookie of the Week: Father Max Koskipilti, Michigan Technological University (Espoo, Finland) Koskipilti had a league-high two assists last week, helping the Huskies beat Minnesota State 4-3 in the Mason Cup semifinals. He was the primary helper on Michigan Tech's first goal of the game and later assisted on his team's second goal. In this game, they were evenly matched with one shot on goal and one defensive block.
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Glens Falls – The Adirondack Thunder, the proud ECHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils and Utica Comets, announced that the club has signed defenseman Mike Van Unen to a standard player contract.
Van Unen, 25, finished five seasons at Northern Michigan University, scoring four points in 17 games on the blue line. The Camploups, British Columbia, native had nine goals, 28 assists, 37 points and 181 penalty minutes in 150 games with Northern Michigan University. Van Unen also finished his college career with over 300 blocked shots.
Prior to his collegiate career, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound left-shooting defenseman played three years in the British Columbia Hockey League for the Merritt Centennials, scoring 46 points (7 goals, 39 goals) in 145 games. (assist) was recorded.
The Thunder will return home for four home games from March 20th to March 24th. On Wednesday, the Thunder host Worcester, then play No. 2 Norfolk 3-3. Fans can enjoy drink specials on his March 22nd and his March 23rd, and on Sunday, March 24th, enjoy a 3 p.m. puck drop and free postgame skate with Thunder players.
Michigan area hockey this week
Tuesday
▶ Columbus, Red Wings, 7 (BSD/97.1)
Grand Rapids, Manitoba, 11:30 a.m. (AHL/96.1)
Wednesday
Grand Rapids, Manitoba, 8 (AHL/106.9/1300)
Thursday
▶ New York Islanders, Red Wings, 7 (BSD/97.1)
Friday
Michigan Technological University, Belmidji State University, 8
Saturday
▶ Nashville Red Wings, 5 (BSD/97.1)
Grand Rapids at Rockford, 8 (AHL/106.9/1300)
Michigan State University, 8 (Big 10)
