Avalanche End Losing Skid with Victory Over the Capitals
On the back of a multi-goal game by Arturri Lehkonen, the Colorado Avalanche ended an extended losing streak, as they came away with a 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals. Entering action on Tuesday, the Avalanche were looking to end a four-game losing skid that had seen them being outscored 16-6 in the past four games. On the other hand, the Capitals were looking to build upon performances over the weekend that saw Washington shut out the Bruins on the road on Saturday and lose in OT against the Canucks on Sunday. With the win, the Avalanche improved to 33-17-4 for 70 points and are tied with the Dallas Stars for first place in the Central Division. Meanwhile, the loss for the Capitals dropped them to 23-21-8 for 54 points and sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. Let’s take a look at how the Avalanche were able to get back in the win column.
The Avalanche would jump out to a 1-0 lead at 2:46 of the first period when Ross Colton scored on a 2-on-1 rush off a pass from Miles Wood. At 4:57, the Avalanche would extend their lead to 2-0, as Devon Toews would score on a wrist shot from the top of the zone. Following a pad save by Avalanche goalie Alexander Georgiev on a Martin Fehervary point shot, Beck Malenstyn would capitalize on a rebound shot to cut the Capitals’ deficit to 2-1. Midway through the opening period, Connor McMichael would tie the game up at 2-2, as he stole a pass from Aliaksei Protas and his shot deflected into the net off of Arturri Lehkonen’s skate. At 8:50 of the second period, Lehkonen would give the Avalanche a 3-2 lead, as he scored off a shot from the right circle. During a power-play opportunity, Mikko Rantanen would extend the Avalanche lead to 4-2, as he would score after receiving a no-look pass from Nathan MacKinnon.
With eleven minutes remaining in the third, Alex Ovechkin scored on the powerplay to extend his goal streak to six and cut the Capitals’ deficit to 4-3. Despite a late surge, the Capitals would fail to tie the game up again, as Lehkonen would score an empty-net goal with 59 seconds remaining, and Miles Wood would do so with 33 seconds remaining for the 6-3 final score. In the win, goalie Alexander Georgiev would make 24 saves on 27 attempts and pick up his 28th victory of the season. For the Capitals, goalie Charlie Lindgren would make 31 saves on 35 attempts, as his squad has lost eight of their last nine. The Avalanche will wrap up their six-game Eastern Conference road trip at Tampa Bay on Thursday night. Meanwhile, the Capitals will travel to Montreal to square off against the Canadiens on Saturday night.
