The Utah Hockey Club pulled off an electrifying 5-4 shootout win against the Washington Capitals, thanks to Nick Schmaltz’s clutch shootout goal. Josh Doan and Dylan Guenther each scored a goal and notched an assist, with Michael Carcone and Jack McBain rounding out the scoring for the visitors.
Utah, which has now won three of their last four games, came out swinging, with Doan scoring just over a minute into the game, followed by Carcone’s goal 32 seconds later. While that was a picture-perfect start for the Hockey Club, it was a nightmare scenario for the Caps, who trailed 2-0 barely 90 seconds into the contest.
Goalie Connor Ingram, who earned the start for Utah, stopped nine of 11 shots before exiting the game with an upper-body injury. Ingram appeared to suffer an injury when he was hit high by an Alex Ovechkin blast. Netminder Karel Vejmelka stepped in and saved the day, stopping 30 of 32 shots as well as all three of Washington’s shootout attempts.
Capitals forward Tom Wilson scored twice, and Ovechkin dished out three assists in the loss. Dylan Strome and Pierre-Luc Dubois rounded out the scoring for the home team. Logan Thompson, who’s been having an incredible season, allowed goals on the first two shots he faced, but rebounded with 23 saves and still sports an impressive 24-2-5 record this season.
After a late rally by Washington forced overtime and a shootout, Schmaltz’s slick move sealed the deal for Utah. He deked Thompson and beat him high stick side, giving Utah skills competition win. Caps defenseman John Carlson, who assisted Wilson’s second goal, was honored before the game for reaching 700 career points. Ovechkin extended his point streak to five games and moved past Phil Esposito for 11th on the NHL’s all-time point list.
