Caps shut out road-weary Canucks
WASHINGTON -- Alexander Ovechkin scored the 200th power-play goal of his storied career in the first period and the Washington Capitals methodically wore down a tired Vancouver Canucks squad to pick up a 3-0 victory on Sunday.
The Capitals' power play had struggled early in the season, but they exhibited picture-perfect special teams to take a lead they would never relinquish. With Vancouver's Daniel Sedin in the box for a hooking penalty, the Capitals quickly took advantage. Ovechkin took a pass from John Carlson at the left face-off circle and blasted a shot past Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom for a 1-0 advantage at the 13:46 mark of the first period.
It was Washington's 10th power-play goal in its last 12 games.
Ovechkin's milestone tally makes him the 18th player in NHL history to hit 200 power-play goals, tying him with Mark Recchi. Ovechkin and Florida's Jaromir Jagr (212) are the only active players who have scored 200 or more power-play goals.
The Capitals didn't need much offense against a weary Canucks team that arrived in D.C. at 3 a.m. Sunday on the heels of a loss Saturday against the Panthers. Markstrom was game, making 26 saves, but the Canucks didn't have much snap in their offense, registering just three shots on goal in the second period despite three power-play opportunities.
Washington picked up an insurance goal early in the third period. Justin Williams took a nifty feed from center Evgeny Kuznetsov, who had drawn three Vancouver defenders, and floated a shot over a sprawling Markstrom for a 2-0 advantage. Tom Wilson added an empty-net goal with 51.1 seconds left.
Capitals goalie Braden Holtby made 20 saves for his second shutout of the season, although he didn't face many quality shots.
Vancouver is now 1-3 on its five-game East Coast swing. The Capitals swept the season series against the Canucks and have now won four straight against Vancouver.
NOTES: Washington reassigned D Aaron Ness to AHL Hershey on Sunday, clearing the way for D Matt Niskanen's return, after he missed one game with an upper body injury. The Capitals have missed just 10 man-games to injury, fewest in the league. Vancouver entered Sunday with 104 man-games lost. ... Canucks RW Jannik Hansen returned to the lineup after being sidelined since Nov. 5 with a rib injury. His return to the top line resulted in shuffles along the top three forward lines. ... Vancouver scratched LW Sven Baertschi and G Ryan Miller. The Canucks reassigned C Joseph LaBate and D Andrey Pedan to Utica of the AHL. ... Sunday's contest is the only game Washington will play against a Western Conference foe in a span of 22 games. ... D Taylor Chorney and RW Brett Connolly were scratched for Washington.