The regular season of the National Hockey League is gradually approaching its end . This is a defining time for the Washington Capitals. The capital club does not lose hope of getting into the list of playoff participants. And although such a scenario is hard to believe, Spencer Carbury’s team has a good chance of returning to the Stanley Cup contenders. At least mathematical ones.
As part of the fight for a ticket to the playoffs, Washington very opportunely opened that page of the calendar when their main competitors lined up in front of the Caps for a wild card and that same place among the best. According to the current schedule, the Capitals are holding quite confidently and have already beaten the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning in turn, and today they won a victory over, perhaps, their main rivals in the standings, the Philadelphia Flyers. And what a victory! Not just necessary, but strong-willed. Super strong-willed.
The current Flyers, although they have very dubious prospects of continuing the season in the playoffs at the end of the regular season, still remain an extremely uncomfortable team for any NHL club. The wards of the eminent John Tortorella are able to come up with problems for absolutely every opponent. “Washington”, with its many difficulties, was no exception. The Capitals were close to failure already at the end of the first period, which ended in their defeat with a score of 0:2 and the Flyers had a more than two-fold advantage in shots on target.
However, after the break, the teams switched roles, and it was the Caps who began to play in a dominant style, while the Flyers were forced to fight back every now and then. Alexander Ovechkin, as the captain and permanent leader of Washington, confirmed his status and marked the beginning of a powerful comeback for his team. It was his goal that led the Capitals to a strong-willed victory. Everything is in the classic style: a won throw-in in the opponent’s zone, a pass to Ovechkin, and Alexander’s shot from the left circle. Not a one-timer, of course, but the office is still productive.
Thanks to this goal, Ovi broke his goalless streak of four matches. Just in time for the beginning of spring. It is symbolic that in Washington’s first match in the new calendar month, the Russian sniper achieved a new achievement. Alexander's goal against Philadelphia was the 145th of his career, scored in March. From now on, this figure is a record in the history of the NHL. The previous achievement apparently belonged to Wayne Gretzky (144). Ovechkin moved one more point closer to the main record of the Greatest. Before Gretzky's result is repeated — 55 goals. Before reaching clear first place in the list of the best snipers in the history of the NHL championships — 56.
Also, Ovechkin's puck in today's match helped the Russian get closer to another achievement. Swedish Flyers goalkeeper Samuel Ersson became Alexander's 173rd victim in the NHL championships. In the entire history of the league, only Jaromir Jagr (178) and Patrick Marleau (177) have scored more goals in the NHL.
After Ovechkin, Washington scored four more times in a row, while Philadelphia scored not one more goal I didn’t get it. 5:2 — The Capitals won an important victory over their main competitor in the Capital Division and gained a little more hope for a happy outcome of the regular season. Ahead of Ovechkin and Co. lies a test of the unpleasant Arizona that has finally broken the long series of defeats, a short rest and another battle with Pittsburgh, which is also fighting for getting into the playoffs.