Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Stuart and Carolina Hurricanes’ Eric Staal battle for position in front of Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec during the third period of their NHL game in Winnipeg on Friday. (Reuters
Reuters/New York
Washington defenseman Dennis Wideman scored three power-play goals to record his first NHL hat-trick and lead the Capitals to a 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.
The Capitals scored all four of their goals with the man-advantage and have won three of their last four games. Toronto have allowed six power-play goals in their last two games and have lost four of their past five.
“Dennis is a smart player and he knows when to pass and when to shoot and he was bang on tonight with it,” Capitals coach Dale Hunter told reporters.
“It’s all decisions to make for a good power play. You have to read the defense just like a quarterback does. So he shot some and he passed some, great decisions by him.”
Wideman scored in each period and assisted on Nicklas Backstrom’s second-period goal, while the Capitals enjoyed a two-man advantage, to finish with four points.
A Maple Leafs penalty awakened the Capitals, who had registered just one shot through the first 12 minutes. Wideman scored on Washington’s second shot, finding the top corner after corralling a hard pass from Mike Knuble.
Phil Kessel scored his 18th goal of the season in the second period to move into a tie for the league lead, while Cody Franson added Toronto’s second with six minutes left in the third period.
“Five-on-five I thought we controlled and at times dominated the game,” said Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson. “We didn’t have much puck luck the way some things bounced around the net. Bad penalties, undisciplined penalties did us in tonight, simple as that.”
Meanwhile, Philadelphia Flyers’ captain Chris Pronger will be out of action indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms the National Hockey League team said on Friday.
Pronger has played just 13 games this season while battling a variety of injuries.
The five times All-Star missed six games with an eye injury after being struck by a stick in October and has been out of the Flyers’ lineup since Nov. 19 with what was called a virus by the team and then had knee surgery on Nov. 29 and was expected to miss a month.