National Hockey League Game Capsules
Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) – Troy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal with just 12.9 seconds to play and the Washington Capitals nabbed a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2015 Winter Classic from Nationals Park. The game appeared headed to overtime, but a penalty to Jonathan Toews at 18:47 gave the Capitals a power play, and just under a minute later a mid-ice faceoff was won by the Capitals that saw Alex Ovechkin bring it into the Chicago end. Ovechkin had his stick broken at the left circle and lost control of the puck, but Brouwer was there for a turnaround shot that beat Corey Crawford for the lead. Braden Holtby then sealed the victory with a tough save on a Patrick Kane shot just before time expired to give the Capitals their second victory in the New Year’s Day event. Washington had won a 3-1 decision over the Penguins at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh in 2011, and is now the first team to win two games at this annual event. Ovechkin finished the game with a goal and an assist, while Eric Fehr also lit the lamp for the Capitals, who had come into the game having lost two of their last three games. Holtby finished the game with 33 stops. Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad scored for the Blackhawks, who have lost both of their Winter Classic appearances as the team dropped a 6-4 decision to Detroit at Wrigley Field in 2009. Crawford made 32 saves.
Final Score: Los Angeles 3, Vancouver 2
Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) – The Los Angeles Kings peppered Ryan Miller with shot after shot. Eventually they started going in. Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll scored in a 53-second span late in the third period and the Kings rallied to top the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Thursday. The Canucks trailed 2-0 after two periods despite giving up just 10 shots but scored three unanswered goals to end a five-game road losing streak. Dwight King’s goal in the second period pulled them within 2-1 and Williams scored on a power play late in the third to tie it. Stoll netted the winner with 1:14 remaining. Jonathan Quick faced just 16 shots in net for the Kings, who won for just the fourth time in their last 10 (4-3-3). They had been 0-3-2 in their last five on the road after losing in Calgary and Edmonton this week. Alexandre Burrows and Radim Vrbata scored for Vancouver, which had a four-game point streak snapped (3-0-1). Miller made 37 saves.
Categorized in: NHL