After a week-and-a-half away from Capital One Arena, the Washington Capitals are back home to face the Dallas Stars. Evgeny Kuznetsov will play his 700th career game while Alex Ovechkin will look to tally point number 1,500 in his career.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery will turn back to goaltender Charlie Lindgren after Darcy Kuemper surrendered three goals on five shots to the Arizona Coyotes.
Tonight’s game is on ESPN and puck drop is a little after 8:00 pm (EST). Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin DO NOT have the call.
Lines
Sonny Milano, Alex Alexeyev, and Lucas Johansen are the Caps’ scratches.
Lineys! #CapsStars | @JackDaniels_US pic.twitter.com/ybzshmFndl
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 8, 2023
Tunnel weirdness
Teamwork.#ALLCAPS | @CaesarsSports pic.twitter.com/7Q7UrBtXvt
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 8, 2023
1st Period
Darcy Kuemper will oppose Scott Wedgewood in net. Ovechkin-Strome-Wilson and Fehervary-Carlson get the start.
🚨 1-0 Capitals. Aliaksei Protas with a bank shot off a Stars player and in to put the Capitals on the board. The Protas-McMike-Mantha line continues to produce. Protas’s third of the season came 7:11 into the first.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel draws a tripping penalty to give the Capitals the first power play of the night.
🚨 1-1 tie. Tyler Seguin scores on a one-timer from nearly no angle. That’s Seguin’s ninth and comes 15:38 into the frame.
Charlie Lindgren with a diving pokecheck to deny a Joe Pavelski breakaway.
The Stars outshot the Capitals 10-6 in the first period and out-attempted at five-on-five, 20-9.
2nd Period
Puck is dropped.
🚨 2-1 Capitals. Dylan Strome takes Tom Wilson’s shot whiff and scores from the center of the ice. It’s Strome’s 9th goal of the season, coming 4:31 into the stanza.
🚨 3-1 Capitals. Protas with a stick lift. Matthew Phillips with a great heads up pass. Then Evgeny Kuznetsov scores on a breakaway in his 700th career game. That’s how you respond after being healthy-scratched!
Capitals may have had about five of their best consecutive shifts of the early season.
🚨 3-2 Capitals. Mason Marchment scores on a two-on-one after Nicolas Aube-Kubel misses the net seemingly by 100 miles, springing the Stars after the puck rims around the boards and into the neutral zone. Matt Duchene gets the primary assist in his 1,000th career game.
Stars lead in shots 24-18 and 45-28 in attempts at five-on-five.
3rd Period
Puck is dropped.
Tom Wilson runs over Scott Wedgewood in net and the Stars go to the power play.
🚨 3-3 tie. Stars score on the resulting power play. Roope Hintz scores after a point shot is deflected off of John Carlson and makes its way into the net.
🚨 4-3 Capitals. Dylan Strome scores on a three-on-two odd-man break on the power play. That’s his second of the night and the 100th of his career! Mantha with the primary assist. Ovechkin gets the secondary, which is his 1,500th point.
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