EDMONTON, AB – Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals traveled to Edmonton Wednesday to take on the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.
The Oilers would get off to a roaring start, burying a pair of power-to-play goals in the opening seven minutes, but the Capitals quickly clawed their way back into the game by burying their first two shots on Stuart Skinner and seemingly erasing any momentum that their opponents had built up. Yet, only 30 seconds after Connor McMichael‘s game-tying goal at 10:55 of the period, Zach Hyman would bury his 44th goal of the season and give the Oilers a lead they would refuse to relinquish.
After failing to make a save on either of the first two shots he faced, Skinner became a brick wall – making a number of ten-bell saves, including two remarkable stops on Ovechkin, who had a gaping net at his disposal each time – once in the first period, and yet again in the third period, sparking a standing ovation from the roaring crowd.
The game also saw Connor Brown score his first goal of the season and first with the Oilers in his 55th appearance this season. The goal would seemingly bring all of Oil Country together – from Brown’s teammates, to those in attendance who all rose to their feet and even tossed a few hats and miscellaneous items onto the ice in a display of approval, to even his harshest critics on Social Media.
Hats would again be tossed on the ice later in the period after it was announced that the power play goal originally credited to Evan Bouchard in the finally minute of the second frame had actually deflected off of Hyman, giving the game’s First Star of the night 46 goals on the season and capping off his fourth hat trick of the season.
Leon Draisaitl picked up four points in the 7-2 Oilers victory, good enough for Second Star of the game, while Connor McDavid scored a goal along with his 80th and 81st assists of the season, earning him the game’s Third Star.
Check out this photo gallery from Inside the Rink’s Kevin Neufeld, for highlights from the game.
