The Washington Capitals have completed an amazing turnaround this season, as they moved from the Southeast Division basement to winning the division in a matter of a few months. The Capitals clinched the division with an impressive 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, as secondary scoring came through in a big way.
While Alex Ovechkin did manage to score his 31st goal of the season on Tuesday, that came into an empty net to seal the win, and the star winger barely factored into the Capitals’ early scoring. Matt Hendricks got things started with a goal a little more than three minutes into the game, and Jason Chimera also found the back of the net in the first period. It was only the fifth goal of the season for Hendricks and just the third of the season for Chimera.
Nicklas Backstrom scored in the second period, surprisingly only his eighth tally of the season. Ovechkin assisted on that goal and would finish the night with two points. Mathieu Perreault’s sixth goal of the season finished off the Capitals’ scoring from surprising sources. While Ovechkin has been a huge part of the Capitals’ rise to the top of the division, it was nice to see the team still come up with a big win even when he isn’t scoring constantly.
The Capitals have two games remaining in the regular season, and are now guaranteed at least the third seed for the playoffs. Ovechkin holds a three-goal lead over Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the race for the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy.
Jonathan Katje is an NHL senior writer for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your circles on Google Plus.
