Washington Capitals Shut Out Seattle Kraken, 3-0, For Sixth Straight Win; Aliaksei Protas Hits 20-Goal Mark; Alex Ovechkin 20 Goals Away From Setting NHL Record

Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals shut out the Seattle Kraken by a score of 3-0 at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday to improve to 33-10-5 (.740 points percentage) this season and extend their season-long winning-streak to six and point-streak to 12 (9-0-3). Their current point-streak is the longest any NHL team has posted this season. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves in his first shutout of the season and start in six games.

Washington’s Lines

Connor McMichael — Dylan Strome — Alex Ovechkin
Aliaksei Protas — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Tom Wilson
Taylor Raddysh — Lars Eller — Ethen Frank
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd —Andrew Mangiapane

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

Lindgren
Logan Thompson

  • Scratched
    • LW Jakub Vrana
    • D Dylan McIlrath
    • D Alexander Alexeyev
  • Injured
    • LW Sonny Milano (upper-body)
    • C Nicklas Backstrom (hip)
    • RW T.J. Oshie (back)

Seattle’s Lines

Jaden Schwartz — Matty Beniers — Kaapo Kakko
Andre Burakovsky — Chandler Stephenson — Oliver Bjorkstrand
Jared McCann — Shane Wright — Eeli Tolvanen
John Hayden — Mitchell Stephens — Brandon Tanev

Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Ryker Evans — Brandon Montour
Jamie Oleksiak — Josh Mahura

Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer

  • Scratched
  • Injured
    • C Yanni Gourde (lower-body)
    • RW Jordan Eberle (pelvis)

First Period

Scoring

Stats

  • 15-9 Washington in shots
  • .636 Washington on faceoffs
  • 6-1 Washington in blocked shots
  • 9-6 Washington in giveaways
  • 4-3 Washington in takeaways
Charts: Natural StatTrick

Second Period

Scoring

  • 4:36, 1-0 Washington: After Daccord stopped Dubois with his left pad, Protas came out from behind the goal line and batted one in off of a Kraken defenseman and in over the right arm of Daccord. The tally was Protas’ 20th of the season. The 23-year-old extended his point streak to three games (2-2-4). 19 of Protas’ 20 goals have come at even strength, which leads Washington and ranks tied for sixth in the NHL. Dubois extended his point- and assist-streaks to three games (2-3-5). Dubois ranks first on the Capitals in primary assists (21), second in assists and even-strength points (8-25–33) and third in points. Washington became the fourth team this season with three 20-goal scorers (Protas: 20, Ovechkin: 21, Wilson: 20), joining the Tampa Bay Lightning (four), Toronto Maple Leafs (three), and Winnipeg Jets (three).
  • 18:05, 2-0: After stripping the puck from Kakko at the defensive blueline, Frank sprinted towards the loose biscuit and busted in a breakaway. His wrist shot was shut down by the right pad of Daccord before he followed it up with a ripper that went over Daccord’s blocker. The 26-year-old recorded his fourth point (three goals) in his first seven NHL games.

Stats

  • 25-13 Washington in shots
    • including 10-4 in the second
  • .605 Washington on faceoffs
  • Seattle failed to score on only power play in the first two periods
  • 10-6 Seattle in hits
  • 17-5 Washington in blocked shots
  • 17-14 Seattle in giveaways

Third Period

Scoring

  • 16:32, 3-0 (ENG): Ovechkin shot one in from just below the defensive blueline for his 875th career NHL goal, 20 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.

Stats

  • 33-22 Washington in shots
  • .596 Washington on faceoffs
  • 16-8 Seattle in hits
  • 22-8 Washington in blocked shots
  • 21-21 in giveaways
  • 7-7 in takeaways

Washington, who blocked 20 or more shots for the 11th time this season, has three shutouts in their past five games. The Capitals have killed off 12-straight opposing power-plays dating back to their 4-1 win at the Nashville Predators on January 11. Washington has allowed 19 goals against during its 12-game point streak (1.58 per game).

Lindgren’s seven shutouts since joining the Capitals in 2022-23 are tied with Michal Neuvirth and Pete Peeters for the sixth most in franchise history.

Washington’s lead in the Metropolitan Division over the Carolina Hurricanes (with a game in hand) extended to eight points. They are also 11 clear of the New Jersey Devils with three in hand.

Next game: Saturday at Vancouver Canucks (10 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network 2 in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market)

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077

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