Capitals secure first-ever win against Utah but at what cost

The Washington Capitals completed their three-game road trip out west with a 6-2 victory over Utah Hockey Club. Washington won all three games by a combined 16-6.

• The Capitals didn’t play well in this game, but they had the excuse of being dead tired at the end of a jam-packed road trip, and it didn’t matter because they’re shooting the lights out with the puck right now. The five-on-five stats were ugly, with Washington only creating 11 scoring chances and two high-danger chances in regulation. However, there was a ton of special teams time played in the game, and they still did a good enough job defensively not making Charlie Lindgren’s night too crazy.
• That special teams time included 10 power plays, seven of which went to Utah. The Capitals’ penalty kill, aided by Lindgren, killed all seven of Utah’s attempts. Washington’s PK ranks first in the league on the road (95.7%) and third overall (87.7%).
• Alex Ovechkin scored two more goals, and I think he almost assuredly would have had back-to-back hat tricks if he hadn’t come out of the game injured. Ovi is now just 26 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky for a share of the all-time goals record. I didn’t love the vibes from the Capitals postgame, which included no celebratory Spencer Carbery postgame speech video. Let’s pray to the hockey gods that the big man is all good and does the whole RMNB thing.

• After I pointed out their recent run of poor results in the last morning numbers post, I thought the fourth line was Washington’s best five-on-five in this win. They combined for four points (2g, 2a), and the team was a net positive with them out on the ice, seeing positive differentials in scoring chances (+1) and high-danger chances (+1). Brandon Duhaime was particularly lively, which is good to see after his injury concerns on this trip.
• Dylan Strome is still quietly tied for fourth in the NHL in scoring with 28 points (6g, 22a). He added two more points (1g, 1a) against Utah and already has nine multi-point outings this year.
• Charlie Lindgren made 24 stops on 26 shots in the win. Per MoneyPuck, this was his best start of the season so far, stopping 2.36 more goals than expected.