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The Washington Capitals are getting a new coach, a new system and a group of new players. Last week they lost four of their best players, including their future Hockey Hall of Fame winger Alex Ovechkin to COVID protocol. The injury virus also made two crosses (Nicklas Backstrom and Lars Eller) their other top winger (Tom Wilson). They are already without Michal Kempny and Henrik Lundqvist with end-of-season injuries. And, oh yeah, a guy named Michael Sgarbossa was their fourth-line cross tonight.
Regardless of all of these issues, Cardiac Caps do not lose regulation and sometimes do. The Capitals have racked up points in the standings in every game this season – a seven-game streak – and are 4-0-3. With their thrilling last-minute victory over the Islanders, the Capitals took the top spot in the NHL.
Tons of adversity. Most points at National. pic.twitter.com/klVZQ0FhhQ
– John Walton (@JohnWaltonPxP) January 27, 2021
The Capitals’ reign alone at the top began at 9:33 a.m. EST and ended an hour and 58 minutes later. This was when the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 at 9:31 MT, and improved to 6-2-0 (they played more games than the Capitals).
Eighteen minutes later, at 8:49 a.m. PT, the Vegas Golden Knights, propelled by a hat trick from Max Pacioretty, forced overtime and ultimately got a losing point against the St. Blues. Louis, tying them with Washington at 11 classification points each (5-1-1).
The Capitals ended the evening tied for second in the league standings. They are also in first place in the MassMutual East.
The Capitals are one of the four teams not to lose in regulation this season.
RMNB coverage of ceilings in relation to islands
Screenshot provided by the NHL rankings page
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