It wasn't set up to be a nail biter going into the final few minutes against the Blues on Wednesday night as the Capitals had a comfortable 4-1 lead.
However, two quick goals by St. Louis closed the gap with a under a minute to spare, and we left wondering if the Capitals were going to blow another third period lead.
Washington held on for the victory with captain Alex Ovechkin notching his first hattrick of the season.
The big boys woke up tonight for the Caps with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov leading the way in scoring. Nicklas Backstrom continued his very strong play of late with an assist. It was Backstrom's 9th point in the last 5 games.
Ovechkin has been on a tear lately as well, scoring 5 goals in his last four games. He is taking advantage of more chances created by his teammates.
"Sometimes you just feel right away when you have an opportunity to shoot the puck and you feel the puck on your stick and you just go out there and just use the momentum and use your chances," Ovechkin said after the game. "My linemates and my partners gave it to me. You can see all three were kind of good setups and I just had to hit the net."
It was Ovechkin's 110th multigoal game - the most in the last 20 years - and moved passed Jaromir Jagr with the most three-goal games among active players.
Kuznetsov's play tonight was more of what we expect with a goal and an assist. He was a lot more comfortable with the puck than he has been lately, which is something his captain noticed:
"Kuzy was flying today," said Ovechkin. "I hope he's back on his game. When he has confidence, he controls the puck on his stick and goes back and forth. It helps us as wingers when you see your centerman play well."
Braden Holtby didn't play that well tonight, stopping just 18-21 shots. Holtby has been strong this season, but has been left out to dry on multiple occasions. While he isn't stunning anyone, he has been solid enough for the Caps to hang on to a 12-5-2 record for third in the Metro.
More to come...
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!