Thanksgiving Eve victory on Ovi’s big night: Capitals beat Jets 4-3
The Washington Capitals squared off with the Winnipeg Jets in a cross-conference matchup at Capital One Arena on Wednesday night. After a ceremony honoring the legendary Alex Ovechkin, the two teams got down to business.
John Carlson opened the scoring for the Caps, slamming home a nice feed from Tom Wilson. Jakob Chychrun stayed red hot to put the home team up two. Gabe Vilardi was gifted a goal for the Jets in the final minute after a very bad Carlson turnover. Vilardi tied the game on an early second-period power play, but Ovechkin restored Washington’s advantage soon after.
Connor McMichael extended the lead with a breakaway in the third. Mark Scheifele brought the Jets back within one late.
Capitals beat Jets 4-3!
- I was so ready to write a bullet about how that was a perfect first period after a long ceremony, and then John Carlson gifted the Jets a goal, and Dylan Strome took a bad roughing penalty all within the final minute. Still, the Caps came out of the back-and-forth opening frame up a goal and up 6-4 in high-danger chances. Wish they had helped their goaltender out a little more in the final few minutes, though.
- Jakob Chychrun now has a point in nine straight games and a goal in four straight. He is now tied with Cale Makar for the most goals this season by a defenseman with nine and is on pace for a 75-point season. I would not be surprised if we start hearing some noise about Chychrun and Team Canada.
- I thought the Capitals’ tribute video for Alex Ovechkin was pretty awesome. I was one of those kids that Ovechkin inspired to lace up a pair of skates and play hockey.
- The Capitals had the puck a ton in the second period, but didn’t create enough offense with it and turned it over way too cheaply, way too many times. They didn’t record a single high-danger chance in the frame and needed some brilliance from their captain to get them into the second intermission up a goal.
- Ovechkin scored the 11th goal this season and the 908th of his career on a spin-around wrister that found the top shelf from near the blue line. Ovi put away his most recent marker after taking warmups with his two sons, Sergei and Ilya, ahead of his big night. He fist-bumped Ilya along the glass after the goal.
- Big-time congrats to Bogdan Trineyev, who earned his first recall ahead of the game. Trineyev has been grinding and improving year after year after being a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Let’s hope we get to see his debut while he’s up with the Capitals.
- Looking at the out-of-town AHL scoreboard and Ilya Protas scored in his sixth straight game for the Hershey Bears. He has 11 points (6g, 5a) in those six games. Good. Lord.
- Tremendous shutdown third period. I have no complaints. Well done in all three zones. Scheifele’s goal was a lucky bounce.
- Really great to see Connor McMichael create a turnover, get his legs moving, and finish on a breakaway. McMichael getting on a hot streak would be huge for the Capitals, as he’s just been a step behind so far this fall.
- Charlie Lindgren was great when the Capitals needed him. That glove hand was working to perfection.
The Capitals will next host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night before embarking on a four-game road trip that includes three games out west in California.
NFL Makes Statement After Dak Prescott Announcement
Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are heading into one of their biggest games of the season on Thursday. The Cowboys will get to host Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a Thanksgiving showdown that is sure to capture the attention of the entire football world on America’s biggest holiday.
Prescott will be looking to keep his foot on the gas against the Chiefs after his incredible performance in Sunday’s comeback victory against the defending champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. On Wednesday, the NFL took to social media to make a statement on Prescott ahead of the highly anticipated Thanksgiving matchup.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) takes the field before an NFL gameJerome Miron-Imagn Images
The Cowboys found themselves down 21-0 against the Eagles on Sunday. However, they somehow clawed their way back to secure an improbable 24-21 victory against the champs. Prescott led the charge for Dallas, completing 23-of-36 passes for 354 yards and two touchdowns. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback also had five carries for nine yards and a rushing TD.
Prescott rewrote the history books with his performance against the Eagles. The 32-year-old surpassed Tony Romo for the most passing yards in franchise history. The Cowboys announced Prescott's historic achievement during the game, congratulating their franchise quarterback on his latest feat.
On Wednesday, the NFL sent out a timely reminder about Prescott’s historic milestone.
“Dak leads a group of Dallas greats
“KCvsDAL– Thanksgiving Day 4:30pm ET on CBS/Paramount+ Also streaming on #NFLPlus,” the league posted on Instagram.
Prescott, who already has a league-high 276 completions this season for 2,941 yards and 23 touchdowns, will want to keep it going against the Chiefs on Thursday. Dallas improved to 5-5-1 after securing its second straight win on Sunday and will hope to make it three in a row on Thanksgiving.
Kansas City, on the other hand, has a lot of momentum on its side as well. They busted out of their recent two-game losing skid on Sunday with a big win against the Indianapolis Colts. The Chiefs are currently 6-5 and are fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive this season.
The Cowboys will play host for Thursday’s contest, with kickoff from AT&T Stadium scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET.
