Capitals @ Ducks Recap: Protas’ First Hat Trick Fuels Caps to Mighty 7-4 Win

The Washington Capitals continued their west coast road trip with a stop in Orange County to take on the Anaheim Ducks. With Captain Alex Ovechkin sitting out the second game of a back-to-back, the Capitals scored their highest goal total of the season with seven and saw Protas record his first career hat trick as they took the game by a score of 7-4.

The Ducks took an early lead just over four minutes into the game on a goal from defenseman Jamie Drysdale, but the Capitals responded less than a minute later as Aliaksei Protas continued his strong play as of late, tying the game 1-1. The Capitals would strike again late in the period as Connor McMichael scored on a pretty feed from behind the net from Dylan Steman, his first career NHL point, to give Washington a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.

The Capitals’ offense exploded in the second period as they scored four goals and held the Ducks off the scoresheet to take a commanding 6-1 lead after two periods. Protas scored his second of the game and fifth of the season at the 2:41 mark, followed by a goal from Marcus Johansson, his second in as many games, just over two minutes later. After John Carlson scored on the power play, Protas completed the hat trick with his sixth of the year to give the Capitals an overwhelming lead.

The Ducks wouldn’t go away quietly, however, as they scored the only two goals of the third period, including a shorthanded goal by Troy Terry, to make it 6-3. The Capitals responded on the power play with less than two minutes to play as Connor McMichael scored his second of the game and fourth of the season to make it 7-3. The Ducks scored a power play goal of their own with under a minute to play to make it 7-4, but that would be as close as they would get as the Capitals held on for the win.