Capitals Cuff ‘Canes, 3-1; Connor McMichael Scores 16th Goal Of The Season, Aliaksei Protas And Jakub Vrana Score

Photo: Capitals

The Washington Capitals downed the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-1, Friday night at Capital One Arena in the District. Charlie Lindgren stopped 25 of 26 shots faced in the win. Lindgren has stopped 97 of 103 shots against (.942 SV%) over his last four starts in December.

The victory improves the Capitals record to 22-8-2 (46 points) on the season and gives Washington the best points percentage in the NHL. The Capitals now have a 9-4-0 record against Metropolitan Division teams this season and have a 8-2-0 record following a loss.

After a mostly uneventful first frame, the Capitals opened the scoring late in the first period with a deflected goal from Aliaksei Protas with less than a minute remaining in the period for a 1-0 lead at the first intermission.

The Capitals made it 2-0 on a blast by Jakub Vrana late in the middle stanza and Connor McMichael added his 16th of the season in the final minute of the frame for a 3-0 lead at the second break.

The ‘Canes got on the scoreboard midway through the final period on a dart from Seth Jarvis to make it 3-1. That would be the final.


LINEUP

Charlie Lindgren (9-6-0, 2.62 GAA, .902 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Capitals. Pyotr Kochetkov (13-5-0, 2.47 GAA, .902 sv%) got the start in net for the visiting Canes. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Andrew Mangiapane — Dylan Strome — Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Aliaksei Protas
Jakub Vrána – Hendrix Lapierre — Taylor Raddysh
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Ivan Miroshnichenko

Martin Fehervary — John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin — Matt Roy
Jakob Chychrun — Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Charlie Lindgren
Logan Thompson

Scratched: Lars Eller (illness), Dylan McIlrath, Alexander Alexeyev

Injured: Alex Ovechkin (fractured fibula), Sonny Milano (upper-body), Nicklas Backstrom (hip), T.J. Oshie (back).


1ST PERIOD

After a mostly uneventful first frame, the Capitals opened the scoring late in the period with a deflected goal from Aliaksei Protas (12) with less than a minute remaining in the stanza. Andrew Mangiapane (5) and Matt Roy (7) had the helpers.

And that was it for the first frame. The Hurricanes led in five-on-five shot attempts, 15-10, and expected goals for, 0.28 to 0.20.


2ND PERIOD

Both goaltenders made excellent saves midway through the middle frame. Charlie Lindgren’s windmill save is a candidate for save of the season.

The Capitals bolstered their lead to 2-0 with a blast from Jakub Vrana (5) at 16:11 of the second period. Hendrix Lapierre (7) and Taylor Raddysh (11) had the assists.

The Capitals made it 3-0 with another last-minute tally, this time from Connor McMichael (16) at 19:33 of the second period. Martin Fehervary (7) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (18) had the assists.

The Capitals held the three-goal lead into the second intermission. The Hurricanes led in five-on-five shot attempts, 38-23 and expected goals for, 0.80 to 0.77.


3RD PERIOD

The ‘Canes got on the scoreboard midway through the final period on a dart from Seth Jarvis (9) to make it 3-1. Sebastian Aho (25) and Brent Burns (7) had the helpers.

That would be the final. The Hurricanes dominated five-on-five shot attempts, 56-31, and led in expected goals for, 1.77 to 1.33.


SHAVINGS (Via Capitals PR)

  • Aliaksei Protas scored his 12th goal of the season to put the Capitals up 1-0 with 43 seconds remaining in the first period. Protas leads the Capitals in points at five-on-five (8g-14a–22p) and is tied with Dylan Strome for the team lead in even strength points (26).
  • Andrew Mangiapane recorded the primary assist on Protas’ goal, his fifth assist of the season. Mangiapane has points in back-to-back games (1g, 1a).
  • Matt Roy earned the secondary assist on Protas’ goal, his seventh assist of the season. Roy has recorded five assists in 10 career games against Carolina.
  • Jakub Vrana scored his fifth goal of the season to extend Washington’s lead to 2-0. Vrana has has tallied a point in back-to-back games (1g, 1a) and has three points (2g, 1a) in his last five games played.
  • Taylor Raddysh has been credited with the secondary assist on Washington’s second goal, his 11th assist of the season. Raddysh (4g-11a-15p in 32 GP) has surpassed his point total from 2023-24 in 41 fewer games (5g-9a-14p in 73 GP).
  • Connor McMichael scored his 16th goal of the season with 26 seconds remaining in the second period to extend the Capitals’ lead to 3-0. McMichael’s 16 goals lead Washington, while his 13 goals at five-on-five are tied with Buffalo’s Tage Thompson for the most in the NHL.
  • Martin Fehervary tallied the primary assist on the Capitals’ third goal, his seventh assist of the season. Capitals defensemen have combined for 85 points (17g, 68a) this season, which is the second-highest total in the NHL.
  • Pierre-Luc Dubois earned the secondary assist on the Capitals’ third goal, his 18th assist of the season. Dubois has recorded nine points (3g, 6a) in his last nine games and leads the Capitals in points in December (2g-5a–7p in 8 GP).
  • The Capitals have allowed two or fewer goals against in six of their last eight games. Entering tonight’s contest, Carolina ranked fourth in the NHL in goals for per game (3.61).

By Jon Sorensen

Capitals Postgame Audio

Forward Jakub Vrana
Forward Connor McMichael
Forward Aliaksei Protas
Defenseman Matt Roy
Head coach Spencer Carbery

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.

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