The Washington Capitals forward found the back of the net from nearly 200 feet away in a victory against the Philadelphia Flyers. And it wasn't just dumb luck.
Dowd was definitely aiming for the net while clearing the puck, as is the team's philosophy, head coach Peter Laviolette explained.
"I've watched guys try to flip pucks out under pressure, turn them over," Laviolette said. "When there is an opportunity to shoot the puck down the ice and put it in the net, you know, there are some rules in there, but for the most part, if you get a look down ice, I want it in the back of the net... So, Dowder did the right thing."
"Lavy told us right at the beginning of the season that he wants us to end the game if we have a chance to end the game," Dowd said. "We've been told that if we have an opportunity to shoot the puck from anywhere on the ice, let's just end it. Let's take a shot at the net and end it."
Not only did he do the right thing according to his coach, but Dowd actually split it perfectly, sticking the puck right in the middle of the back of the net.
"I can't believe it's taken this long to end one that way," Laviolette said. "But it has been in place since the start of the year. We've talked about it and we actually worked on it at practice a couple times, but it was nice. It takes a game that is in reach of being tied up and puts it out of reach."
- NHL.com staff writer Adam Kimelman contributed to this report.
