‘Physically and mentally, they need a break’

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This article was published 23/12/2022 (1031 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASHINGTON – The Washington Capitals played the role of Grinch, stealing two points from the Winnipeg Jets in their final game before the Christmas break.

The Capitals took full advantage of a Jets team that’s had a heck of a travel schedule over the last week, finding the back of the net in all three periods to leave with a 4-1 victory in front of 18,573 at Capital One Arena Friday night. That concluded a two-game road trip for Winnipeg that opened with a 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins just 24 hours earlier.

That’s a season-high three consecutive road losses for the Jets, dropping their record to 21-12-1 on the season. The Capitals have won nine of their last 10 games and six of the last seven on home ice to improve to 19-13-4.

The Jets will now head out on a three-day break for the holidays, returning to action on Tuesday when they host the Minnesota Wild to kick off a two-game homestand. But before we look too far ahead, let’s take a closer look at Friday’s loss.

1) You knew Alexander Ovechkin was due after having gone a rare four games without a goal. The scene also seemed to be set, facing a tired opponent that had travelled across three time zones, a stretch that had Winnipeg playing five games in seven days.

Ovechkin would finally hit his mark, surpassing Gordie Howe’s 801 goals for the second-most ever scored in the NHL. He would tie Howe at the 18:22 mark of the first period, retrieving a drop pass from Dylan Strome before firing a shot at the top of the right circle that beat backup David Rittich five-hole.

It would take until the final seconds of the third period and with the Jets net empty for the Great 8 to make history. Ovechkin scored his 802nd with one minute remaining, moving into sole possession of second place, behind Wayne Gretzky’s 894.

“You never thought it’s going to happen when you came into the league, you’re going to beat any Gordie Howe record or Wayne Gretzky record or any record,” said Ovechkin. “You felt like, OK, maybe you’re going to play in the NHL, you’re going to be good and you’re going to try to do your best, but the whole situation happening right now, it’s a miracle. You know, it’s pretty special.”

Ovechkin received a standing ovation and was swarmed by his teammates when he scored the goal. He took a photo with his family, including his young kids holding the pucks.

“Very emotional. My wife is here, kids here, friends. Doing it with the home crowd, it’s special,” he said. “They give me full support, and this is pretty big. It’s a historic moment.”

It was a classy move by the Jets, who were clearly disappointed to be part of history but took the time after the game to shake Ovechkin’s hand at centre ice to congratulate the accomplishment.

“He’s done so much for this league,” said Adam Lowry. “He’s been a great ambassador, he’s kind of bridged the gap as an international player. He’s a great personality and it’s just a sign of respect to really let him know we appreciate all he’s done for the league, all he’s done for us as players.”

2) You got to feel a bit for Rittich, who despite posting decent numbers under mostly tough conditions, hasn’t had a lot of run support. In his nine start this year, the Jets have scored three or fewer goals in seven, with four of those games having two or fewer.

Rittich allowed three goals on 26 shots, with Sonny Milano scoring at the 12:36 mark of the second and Nic Dowd at the 3:49 into the third. Rittich is now 5-4-0 on the year, with a 2.61 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage.

“We’d like to give him more support and put more in so he doesn’t have to make as many big saves and we can make it easier on him,” said Josh Morrissey. “The execution might not have been there the last couple of games, but I think our work ethic and compete was there.”

The Jets had some scoring opportunities that could have changed the feel of the game, including a glorious chance on the penalty kill from Lowry. But they were robbed all night by netminder Charlie Lindgren, who entered the night 7-1-0 in his last eight starts and is a big reason the Capitals have jumped from 13th to 8th spot in the Eastern Conference.

Fourth-liner Kevin Stenlund broke the shutout midway through the third to inject some life into Winnipeg, but it proved too little, too late.

3) The Jets had already been dealing with a significant amount of injuries to their lineup, so it almost felt like a cruel joke when they revealed prior to puck drop that the injury bug had struck again.

Cole Perfetti suffered an unspecified injury late in the game against Boston Thursday and was unavailable against the Capitals. He joins forwards Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler, Mason Appleton and Saku Maenalanen, as well as defencemen Nate Schmidt and Logan Stanley to be currently sidelined.

With Perfetti out, Michael Eyssimont drew back into the lineup. Defenceman Kyle Capobianco was also re-inserted, taking the spot of Dylan Samberg, who struggled against the Bruins after a pair of giveaways led to breakaways.

The Jets weren’t using it as an excuse, though, not with Washington having played in Ottawa the night before and with a number of their key contributors also out. The Capitals were without Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson and T.J. Oshie and lost defenceman John Carlson for the third after he took a puck in the face.

4) Bowness was lamenting a lack of discipline against the Bruins, with the Jets giving up four power plays and surrendering a key goal late in the second period that tied the game. The message didn’t seem to get through, as Winnipeg gave up another four against Washington, who, like Boston have a dangerous power play.

The Capitals didn’t technically score on the man-advantage, though Milano’s goal came just as Dylan DeMelo’s holding penalty expired. Furthermore, it didn’t help the juggled roster find chemistry or even get into a rhythm.

It’s unclear when the Jets will get any of their injured players back, but what is clear is the break comes at a perfect time to rest and reset for the end of a busy December.

“We haven’t had a two-day break in a long time, so to have three days off, this group needs it, there’s absolutely no question. Physically and mentally, they need a break,” Bowness said. “But you fall behind, 3-0, they could have just coasted through the end. They didn’t. They kept fighting.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton