WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals are playing for their lives and have to emerge victorious in one final back-to-back to sneak into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And on Monday, they put up quite the fight for two huge points against the Boston Bruins that give D.C. the chance to clinch in just 24 hours.
John Carlson and Nic Dowd scored, and Charlie Lindgren posted his league-leading sixth shutout en route to a 2-0 win.
Here are all the takeaways from the. D.C. can clinch with a victory in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
John Carlson Stays Hot, Gets Capitals On Board As Forecheck Comes Alive
After breaking the franchise record for the most goals by a defenseman back on Saturday, John Carlson added to his record with a point blast that made it 1-0 Capitals in the first period. It marked his 10th goal of the season and fourth point in three games, and Carlson now has double-digit goals in six consecutive seasons.
He was a big catalyst for the Capitals' offense, which dominated in shots for the majority of the game and spent a good amount of time in the offensive zone. While some of the passing was off, Washington ultimately had some good chances and strung together a strong effort.
Nic Dowd sealed the game with an empty-netter late, marking his second straight game with a goal.
D.C. also did a good job of recovering pucks and winning battles. The team finished the night leading 25-16 in SOG.
Charlie Lindgren, Shorthanded Defense Step Up
Lindgren has faced a heavy task for the Capitals as he's been working overtime to help the team to the playoffs, and he again stood on his head en route to a big win over Boston.
The 30-year-old netminder was sharp when he had to be, denying the likes of David Pastrnak on a handful of strong chances, and he also had some ten-bell stops in the third, where Boston started to show life late. He stopped all 16 shots against for his league-leading sixth shutout of the season.
In front of him, though, the shorthanded defense stepped up, with Martin Fehervary, Alex Alexeyev and Trevor van Riemsdyk all taking on bigger minutes to help fill heavy voids left by Nick Jensen and Rasmus Sandin, who are both missing the final games of the regular season.
Carlson, who scored, led all defensemen with 25:36 minutes, while Fehervary, Alexeyev and Van Riemsdyk all played over 20 minutes.
Call-ups Vincent Iorio and Dylan McIlrath also answered the call, and D.C. stayed disciplined while doing a good job of holding Boston to the outside.
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Beck Malenstyn Injured
Washington did suffer a significant loss up front, though, as Beck Malenstyn suffered an upper-body injury in the second period and did not return.
Malenstyn was skating in the offensive zone and passed the puck off before taking a late, high hit from Trent Frederic. The 25-year-old went down in visible discomfort and made his way to the bench slowly before immediately heading down the tunnel.
Top Shelf Takes
- Tom Wilson picked up an assist to extend his point streak to three games and also led with six hits.
- Dylan Strome picked up an assist for his fourth point in five games and added to his single-season career-high in points. He leads the Capitals with 67 points this season.
- Nicolas Aube-Kubel left the game for a spell in the third period after getting hit up high but returned.
- Sonny Milano had a game-saving block late in the second half of the final period.
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