Field Level Media
29 Jan 2022, 15:05 GMT+10
Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and two assists and Vitek Vanecek made 29 saves as the Washington Capitals recorded a 5-0 shutout of the host Dallas Stars on Friday night.
Connor McMichael had a goal and an assist, and Evgeny Kuznetsov contributed two assists for Washington. Tom Wilson, John Carlson, and Trevor van Riemsdyk scored the Capitals' other goals.
Entering Friday's action on a two-game losing streak, the Capitals rebounded by matching their largest margin of victory of the season.
Vanecek held Dallas scoreless to earn his 10th victory of the season. He has two shutouts over his last six outings.
Backstrom has missed much of the season due to a hip injury, COVID-19 protocol, and a non-COVID illness, but the forward has been making up for lost time. Backstrom has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 12 games played this season.
The loss snapped the Stars' four-game winning streak, as Dallas was shut out for the second time this season. Joe Pavelski seemed to open the scoring just 42 seconds into the game, but the Stars forward's goal was erased on video review due to an offsides call earlier in the play.
With that apparent early Dallas lead overturned, the Capitals proceeded to dominate the first period, scoring three goals on 19 shots.
The Capitals entered the game with the league's third-worst power-play percentage (13.85 percent), yet both Wilson and Carlson scored on power-play chances within the first eight minutes. Washington was 0-for-16 with the extra attacker over its previous five games.
The revived Washington power play came at the expense of the struggling Dallas penalty-kill unit. The Stars have allowed at least one power-play goal in 14 of their last 16 games, and during those 16 games have killed off only 30 of 47 opponents' chances with the man advantage.
Dallas starting goalie Braden Holtby didn't receive much help from his defense in allowing five goals on 27 shots in two periods of work. A veteran of 10 seasons with the Capitals, Holtby was facing his former team for the first time.
Jake Oettinger stopped two shots after replacing Holtby during the second intermission.
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Dallas Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Dallas Sun.
More InformationGENEVA, Switzerland: The World Health Organization (WHO) has received a proposal by 13 member states requesting that Taiwan be allowed ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that the bloc would ensure Ukraine that it has ...
Former U.S. President George W. Bush has made an embarrassing mistake in criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin over his decision ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. State Department has announced the launch of a new program to capture and analyze evidence of ...
JAKARTA, Indonesia: A new poll released this week indicated that Indonesian President Joko Widodo's approval rating has hit a six-year ...
EAST JAVA, Indonesia: A tourist bus crashed into a billboard on a highway on Indonesia's main island of Java this ...
SACRAMENTO, California: In another blow to the state's push to diversify corporate leadership, a California court judge has ruled that ...
KATHMANDU, Nepal - According to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), Nepal has reported its first cases of African ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stock markets reversed sharp losses in late trading to eke out minor gains in ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. retail sales rose strongly in April, as consumers bought more motor vehicles and spent more at restaurants, ...
LONDON, England: The UK's jobless rate fell to a 48-year low in the first three months of 2022, it was ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - A reduction of the official lending criteria in China has boosted stocks on the mainland, and ...