Capitals rout Blackhawks in first game after trade deadline
“Just us knowing that that has passed and this is our group now, moving forward into the last 21 games of the season and hopefully on,” he said Saturday morning. “You can feel that this morning — a little bit of a weight lifted off the group.”
The Capitals showed that lightness early on Saturday night, getting goals from Hendrix Lapierre — his fifth in the past six games — and Mike Sgarbossa just 1:44 apart in the first period to give them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The emphatic celebration after each goal suggested the Capitals are dealing with much less anxiety now, and they carried that feeling to a comfortable 4-1 win.
Charlie Lindgren made 31 saves for Washington (30-23-9) after posting a shutout in Thursday’s 6-0 win in Pittsburgh. Petr Mrazek stopped 22 shots for the NHL-worst Blackhawks (16-43-5).
When his redirection of a point shot by defenseman John Carlson sailed into the net at 7:01, Lapierre jubilantly pumped his fist before turning to celebrate with his teammates. And when Sgarbossa backhanded a rebound over Mrazek, Beck Malenstyn grabbed the goal scorer so fiercely he nearly knocked him to the ice.
Aided by a parade to the penalty box by the Blackhawks, the Capitals kept pushing. On Chicago’s third penalty of the period, winger Tom Wilson scored his second goal in as many games to pad Washington’s lead at 13:36. From behind the net, Dylan Strome found Wilson low in the slot for a one-touch finish past Mrazek.
Aliaksei Protas appeared to make it 4-0 shortly after Wilson’s tally, but his goal came off the board after the Blackhawks challenged for offside; Max Pacioretty was ruled to be across the blue line ahead of Protas, who had the puck.
Winning that challenge gave the Blackhawks some life. When Pacioretty went to the penalty box for interference a few minutes later, Chicago’s quest to get back in the game went up another level. But behind four saves from Lindgren, Washington maintained its grip.
Late in the second period, the Capitals scored to take a 4-0 lead — and this time the goal counted. Protas was again involved, winning a puck battle in the neutral zone before racing up the ice on a two-on-one with Sonny Milano. As the duo neared Mrazek, Protas slung a pass across to Milano, who had a wide-open net to score in his fifth straight game.
Facing a four-goal deficit in the final 20 minutes, the Blackhawks — who remain a standings afterthought despite winning the draft lottery last season and selecting generational talent Connor Bedard first overall — had few chances to make things interesting. Tyler Johnson ended Lindgren’s bid for a second straight shutout at 9:49 of the third period, but that was as close as Chicago could get.
The Capitals went on the penalty kill with 5:44 left when Wilson was sent off for tripping, but Washington killed the penalty — helped by Bedard hitting the crossbar and a flashy, full-extension save by Lindgren on a Bedard one-timer from the left circle — and went on to post its third win in four games.
