POSTGAME NOTEBOOK - Caps 4, Kings 2

Don't Be Denied - When Alex Ovechkin scored the first of his three goals at 13:50 of the third period on Tuesday night against Los Angeles, it was a momentous occasion. That's not because it was the 696th goal of his magnificent career, or because the tally tied the game at 2-2.

It's because it was the first shot on net from inside of 40 feet away from one of Washington's top six forwards since Jakub Vrana's shot from 40 feet away at 2:37 of the second period. That's right, the Caps played more than 30 minutes of hockey without a single shot on net - from reasonable scoring distance - from a top six forward against the Kings.
Ovechkin's first goal opened the gates, and quickly added two more as the Caps earned a 4-2 late win over Los Angeles/
When Ovechkin netted his first goal of the night, he did so on just the fifth shot from a top six Washington forward. Vrana had the best look of the group, from 27 feet away at 2:06 of the first. And Vrana also had the aforementioned shot early in the second, and that was it from the top six in the game's first 40 minutes. Two shots on net. It looked as though the Caps needed a GPS to find the net against a structured and diligent Kings team that was stacking three guys across the blueline and thwarting any Washington efforts to establish a forecheck.
Third-line winger Richard Panik was the only Washington skater to manage a shot for in tight in the first 40, and he had two; a wraparound chance at 15:27 of the first, and a shot from 13 feet out at 6:57 of the second. John Carlson scored the Caps' lone goal of the game's first 53 minutes, scoring from high in the inside portion of the right circle - a distance of 33 feet - at 7:25 of the first.

Going into Tuesday's game, the Caps had a string of eight straight games with 30 or more shots on net. Against Los Angeles on Tuesday, they were limited to a dozen shots after 40 minutes - most of them from distance and from defensemen - matching their season low after 40. They also had only a dozen shots on net after 40 in their previous meeting against the Kings, a 3-1 win in L.A. on Dec. 4.
Caps coach Todd Reirden rejiggered his lines at the start of the third, putting T.J. Oshie up on Ovechkin's line, and it was Oshie's wall work and set-up feed to the front that set off Ovechkin's latest offensive outburst of three goals in just 4 minutes and 24 seconds.
Starting a four-game road trip in Washington, the Kings were minutes away from a feel-good win over the league's top team. But Ovechkin's late flurry carried the Caps past the Kings.
"We did a lot of things real good structurally to keep a team like that to very few scoring chances," says Kings coach Todd McLellan. "The penalty kill was good against a potent power play. All four lines had an impact and all six [defensemen] had an impact in the game, and we didn't have that in the game prior. So there are a lot of positives to take, but it's starting to get old with the close-but-no-cigar routine. We've got to clean that up, and it just shows that we've got work to do roster-wise, talent-wise, coaching-wise, structure-wise throughout the organization. We'll have to keep plugging away."
Hot Stuff - When the calendar flipped from 2019 to 2020 just over a month ago, Ovechkin had a respectable total of 24 goals in 41 games, a healthy pace that would produce 48 goals over a full 82-game slate. That's a terrific pace for a 34-year-old winger in any era of the NHL, but Ovechkin has been as hot - and probably hotter - over the last four weeks as he has been at any point in his NHL career.
Ovechkin didn't score in the Caps' first two games of 2020, but he has been on an otherworldly tear since then. The Great Eight has scored 16 goals in just 10 games over that stretch, putting up three hat tricks and six multi-goal games over that span.

"That sounds like a good year," says Carlson. "That sounds like a good year for the majority of the NHL."
Indeed, it does. Of the 906 different skaters who suited up for NHL action in 2018-19, only 171 managed to score as many as 16 goals.
Here's what else Ovechkin achieved with his three goals against Los Angeles on Tuesday night:
Fifty Mission Cap - In addition to his goal, Carlson added a pair of assists on the last two Ovechkin tallies of the night, giving him 51 assists (and 65 points) in just 54 games this season. In doing so, Carlson established a new standard for fewest games needed by a Washington defenseman to reach 50 assists. Mike Green held the previous mark of 63 games, set in 2009-10.
Carlson is the fifth different NHL defenseman in the last 30 years to get to 50 assists in 54 or fewer games, and the first to do so since the Rangers' Sergei Zubov did it in 49 games in 1993-94.
Double Sawbuck - Braden Holtby made 29 saves to record his 20th win of the season. This marks the eighth straight season in which Holtby has won 20 or more games, extending his own franchise record.
Old Number Seven -Carl Hagelin started Carlson's scoring play, earning the secondary assist on Washington's first goal of the game. In doing so, Hagelin extended his career-high scoring streak to seven straight games (three goals, four assists).
By The Numbers - Dmitry Orlov led the Caps with 25:04 in ice time … Ovechkin led the Caps with five shots on net … Michal Kempny led the Caps with seven shot attempts … Garnet Hathaway led the Caps with five hits … Carlson, Nic Dowd and Martin Fehervary each had two blocked shots to lead the Caps.