Dylan Strome had two goals with two assists, while Alex Ovechkin scored career goal No. 898 and added an assist as the Washington Capitals won their fourth straight, 5-1 over the visiting Minnesota Wild on Friday night.
Ovechkin, who assisted on Strome’s first-period goal, notched his first of the season 1:19 into the third to put the Capitals ahead 3-1. Strome added an insurance tally with 8:28 remaining in regulation for Washington, which also got a goal apiece from Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson, and outshot the Wild 45-14.
Directly off a Strome faceoff win, the puck slid to Ovechkin, who one-timed it home from near the top of the circle and by Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson to move closer to No. 900.
Marcus Johansson scored for Minnesota, which was unable to generate any consistent offense while losing for the third time in five games to open the season. Gustavsson, meanwhile, recorded 40 saves as his defense struggled to keep the puck out of their own zone.
The Wild have totaled three goals while losing two straight after scoring 13 times in the first three contests.
Washington, which outshot Minnesota 13-3 in the first period, broke through during a tightly contested opening 20 minutes. With 2:08 to go before the first intermission, Ovechkin skated with the puck toward the right wing, then sent it across into the blue paint for Strome to push home.
The Wild managed just seven shots on goal through the first two periods, but they tied things with 3:13 left in the second. With Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (13 saves) screened by Minnesota’s Jake Middleton, Johansson’s snap shot found the net.
It snapped a run where Minnesota’s previous nine overall goals all came on the power play.
However, the Caps regained the lead less than a minute later. Via some nifty passing, the puck found Protas, who slid it across the slot and past Gustavsson.
Washington has outscored its opponents 13-5 during this four-game winning streak.
