#CapsRangers Postgame Notebook: Four Straight

The third time was the charm for the Capitals on Friday night as Washington's third attempt at stretching a three-game winning streak to four finally paid off in a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers.

Up 1-0 on the first shift of the game and 2-0 by the middle of the second period, the Caps found themselves embroiled in a 2-2 game with their Metropolitan Division rivals with less than four minutes remaining in regulation. At that point, overtime seemed to be looming, and a three-point game was a distinct possibility.

Two boss shifts by Washington's top line put a whole different paint job on the finish of the contest.

Washington winger Tom Wilson reeled in a Rangers clearing bid, and he led the charge back into New York ice, setting up Matt Niskanen's go-ahead goal with 3:32 remaining. That goal proved to be the game-winner, but exactly two minutes later, Wilson put on a burst to glide by New York captain Ryan McDonagh, and he delivered the dagger goal that ensured the Rangers would not be adding to their standings point total on this night.

In addition to being Washington's fourth straight win, Friday's victory is the Caps' seventh win in their last eight games.

"I think just the work ethic and the buy in," says Wilson by way of an explanation for his team's recent success. "Tonight wasn't our best; I thought we were on our heels a little bit throughout the game. But the past five or six games, you've seen that work ethic, you've seen the speed, you've seen the determination and that identity of every line chipping in.

"Earlier on in the year, there were maybe one or two lines that were going on any given night, and maybe one wouldn't be and we weren't putting together a team game. Now you see all four lines that are really chipping in, and that's hard on another team when you have four lines that can roll over and over and create that momentum throughout the whole game."

The 43 Car -Wilson's two-point night extended his scoring streak to three straight games (three goals, four assists), matching the longest scoring run of his NHL career. The points are great, but the bottom line is Wilson is having an impact upon the game in many of his shifts on a given night.

Early in the third period with the Caps owning a 2-1 lead, Wilson issued a hard bodycheck on New York defenseman Brendan Smith, drawing some attention and ire from Smith's teammates. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the zone, the Caps had the puck and were pounding it toward the Rangers net.

Wilson's hit broke down the Rangers' structure in their own end, and the Capitals managed six shot attempts in the 20 seconds immediately following that body blow.

"You're seeing what you drafted in Tom Wilson," says Caps coach Barry Trotz, "you saw a power forward who has some skill. A great human as a person - he's got leadership qualities and he cares about his teammates, obviously.

"You can tell how many times he sticks up for the whole group, and he's done it at a young age. What you're seeing is the Tom Wilson the Washington Capitals drafted. Not everybody is a Sid Crosby. He is taking it one game at a time and developing his game."

Now in his fifth NHL season, Wilson established career highs in goals (seven), assists (16) and points (23) during the 2015-16 season. With five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in just 26 games this season, Wilson is in a position to obliterate all of those personal bests. He has totaled 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his last 13 games.

Despite missing the first four games of the season because of an NHL suspension, Wilson is now Washington's sixth leading scorer in 2017-18.

Niskanen Has The Knack - Niskanen's first goal of the season was a big one, and it was the 50th goal of his NHL career coming in the 750th game of his career in the league. And Niskanen has shown a knack for game-winning goals over the course of his career, and in particular, his recent career.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, only two of the 21 goals Niskanen scored over the first five seasons of his NHL career were game-winners, but since then, a whopping total of 14 of 29 (48.3%) of his goals have been game-winners. Since 2012-13, Niskanen's percentage of game-winners is highest among all NHL players who have scored at least 25 goals over that span. No other player in that group has scored game-winners on even a third of his goals over the last six seasons.

"Nothing better than Nisky getting the winning goal," says Caps coach Barry Trotz. "Nisky doesn't get enough credit for what he means to our hockey club. Obviously it was a big shift. He was sniffing back door and the puck came to him, and that was fantastic. I think everybody in the room has so much respect for that guy and what he does. When he can score a big game-winner, I think everybody in the room is real happy about that."

Start Me Up - Jay Beagle netted Washington's first goal of the game on the first shift of the game, staking the Capitals to a 1-0 lead a mere 14 seconds after the game's opening puck drop.

Getting a goal from your fourth line is always a boost, but particularly when it comes on the first shot and on the first shift of the night. Many of the Capital One Arena patrons hadn't even settled into their seats at that point of the evening.

"I'm sorry," jokes Beagle. "I guess that's my bad. I should have thought of that."

Beagle's goal is the quickest for the Capitals from the start of any game this season, nudging out Alex Ovechkin's goal 20 seconds into an Oct. 7 game against Montreal for that distinction.

Climbing The Ladder - Caps center Nicklas Backstrom notched a goal for the second consecutive game, netting career goal No. 193 midway through the second period. That goal ties him with Dave Christian for seventh place on Washington's all-time ledger in that department.

Down On The Farm -The AHL Hershey Bears suffered a 5-4 setback at the hands of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday night in Lehigh Valley. After falling down 5-1 in the game, the Bears mounted a comeback that ultimately fell just short of producing a point or two in the standings.

With help from Anthony Peluso and Mason Mitchell, Hershey's John Albert scored the Bears' first goal of the game late in the first frame, tying the tilt at 1-1 at that juncture. But the Phantoms then reeled off four goals in just over 22 minutes of playing time to take a commanding 5-1 lead in the second minute of the third period.

Bears blueliner Lucas Johansen issued a quick response, scoring his fourth goal of the season just 30 seconds after the Phantoms went up by four, Wayne Simpson and Zach Sill assisting.

Just over four minutes later, it was Simpson and Sill again with the helping hands, but this time they set up Mathias Bau's eighth of the season to make it a 5-3 game at 6:10 of the third period.

Chris Bourque and Simpson combined to set up Aaron Ness' second of the season at 17:32 of the third to pull the Bears to within one, but Hershey was unable to get the game tied up in the time that remained.

The 11-11-0-3 Bears will have a chance to exact some revenge on Saturday night when they host the Phantoms at Giant Center.

By The Numbers -John Carlson led the Capitals with 25:52 in ice time and seven shots on net … Alex Ovechkin led Washington with 11 shot attempts … Wilson paced Washington with six hits … Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov, Madison Bowey and Evgeny Kuznetsov each had two blocked shots to lead the Caps … Lars Eller won 10 of 15 draws (67%), Backstrom won six of nine drops (67%) and Beagle won eight of the dozen (67%) face-offs he took in Friday night's game.