Ilya Samsonov made 34 saves for his second shutout of the season, and Garnet Hathaway struck for a pair of late goals - his second two-goal game on the road in less than a week - to lift the Capitals to a hard-fought 2-0 win over the Kings in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
Caps Blank Kings, 2-0
Samsonov's 34 saves and two Hathaway goals help Caps extend point streak to six
Wednesday's win ended the Kings' point streak at eight straight (7-0-1) and extended Washington's point streak to six (5-0-1).
"It was a really good performance by [Samsonov]," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "He seemed like he was in control of the game, in control of his crease, and focused. He did a really good job."
For more than 56 minutes on Wednesday night at Staples Center, the Caps and Kings hooked up in a physical and defensive battle on a less than stellar sheet of ice. There were a lot of shots, but not a lot of glorious chances. There was plenty of irascibility and a fair amount of post-whistle skirmishes and scrums, but not a lot of power plays. With every passing minute, it looked as though yet another overtime game might be looming for the Caps.
The complexion of the contest changed when the line of Daniel Sprong, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Hathaway hopped on to the ice together late in the game's 56th minute, the first time that trio was out together.
Kuznetsov carried into the zone and pulled up deep in Los Angeles territory, spotting a late arriving John Carlson on the weak side and feeding him perfectly. Carlson took advantage of some rare time and space, creeping in with the puck and surveying his options.
Meanwhile, Hathaway was lurking near the left post, inside of the Los Angeles defense and unbeknownst to Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, who was near the top of the paint. As he entered the right circle, Carlson put the puck toward the post for Hathaway, who chipped it home with 3:30 left, giving Washington a 1-0 lead.
"What a play by Kuzy to John," says Hathaway. "And that's something we've been talking about, trying to get layers at the net, but also finding a back-door presence as well. And John is a skilled player, so I just had to stand there and put my stick on the ice."
Just over two minutes later, Hathaway sailed the puck into a vacated L.A. net to seal the deal for Samsonov, who was terrific from start to finish. In 52 career appearances, Samsonov has made more saves only four times; his single-game career high is 38. Wednesday's shutout was the fifth of his career, and the third for the Caps in 17 games this season.
Samsonov made a pair of stellar stops late in the second period on Trevor Moore and another critical one early in the third on Adrian Kempe, but as Laviolette noted, it was more volume than quality. The Caps played a strong game in front of Samsonov defensively; they were positionally and structurally sound with good sticks all night.
"I think more importantly, this is a team win," says Samsonov, "because we play with a lot of heart. A lot of blocked shots, and everybody helped me. This is a nice game, you know? This is an important two points. I think I need to play like that every night."
A night after their winning streak was stopped at four in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Ducks in Anaheim, the Caps got back on the beam and earned their 10th win of the season. They've picked up at least a point in 15 of 17 games (10-2-5) this season, and they are tied for the fewest regulation losses in the circuit despite playing without several key players for several games now.
At this time last week, Hathaway had no goals on the season. Now, he's tied for third on the team and he has scored those goals at critical times in tight games, including the game-winners in each of Washington's last two victories.
"I thought Hath was playing well, and you always get judged by goals, it seems," says Laviolette. "But especially in the role that he plays, that's not the factor that determines it for me. So I thought he was playing good hockey. But with the amount of offense that is out of the lineup right now, to have him contributing the way he is, is really important.
"He skates well, he handles the puck well, he shoots it hard, he goes to the net, he goes to the hard areas. There's no reason why he shouldn't score goals so it's nice to see him get rewarded."
