Usual Suspects Step Up Again As Protas Hits 20 Goals & Ovechkin Moves Within 20 Of Record, Dubois Keeps Surging. The Capitals have seen their second line carry a lot of their offe

Alex Ovechkin moved within 20 goals of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record with an empty-netter, helping the Washington Capitals beat the Seattle Kraken 3-0 on Friday night for their sixth straight victory.

Protas reached the 20-assist mark when he set up a Tom Wilson goal in the first period that tied the game at 1-1. The 24-year-old Protas has looked good in a top-six role this season even without seeing much power-play time. He's up to 39 points, 81 shots on net, 22 blocked shots and a plus-26 rating over 47 appearances.

Protas scored a goal, dished an assist, blocked two shots, added two PIM and went plus-2 in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Penguins. Protas was involved in the Capitals' first two goals, setting up Jakob Chychrun on the opening tally in the first period before netting the game-winner himself in the second.

Jakob Chychrun, Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored, Logan Thompson made 18 saves and the NHL-leading Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 for their fourth consecutive victory

Aliaksei Protas and the Washington Capitals meet the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday at 7:00 PM ET, at Capital One Arena. Thinking about a bet on Protas? We have some numbers and figures to help you along the way.

The Capitals are the only NHL team to rank in the top five of the League in goals from both high-danger areas (76; tied for third) and midrange areas (51; second) this season. Ovechkin has scored six high-danger goals (74th percentile).

A third-period goal from Pittsburgh’s Bryan Rust snaps goalie Logan Thompson’s scoreless streak at just shy of 120 minutes.

Two of the National Hockey League’s top teams will tangle at Rogers Center in Edmonton, Alberta, on Tuesday night. The Washington Capitols, which top all NHL teams with 67 points, will open a five-game road trip against the Oilers (29-14-3, in the Pacific Division), one of six teams with at least 60 points.

Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves and three more in the shootout as the host New York Rangers earned a crucial 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night. Vincent Trocheck scored in the second round of the shootout for the lone goal of the skills competition as the Rangers improved to 5-0-2 in their past seven games after dropping 15 of 19 (4-15-0).

Alex Ovechkin nets 861st NHL goal vs. Nashville Though the Capitals ... and his goal was assisted by Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas. Alex Ovechkin slaps it in from distance to get his 859th ...

As the Washington Capitals head on a lengthy road trip up North, they find themselves in a very, very good spot sitting atop the NHL standings. But the work's not done, and they're not satisfied. Not yet.