(via the Caps)
Defenseman Tyler Lewington not only got his first NHL assist against Ottawa on Saturday, but later in the period added his first career goal. And after that, another young defenseman, Madison Bowey, scored his first, which turned into the game winner for a 3-2 win.
And, of course, Lewington later got into a fight for the first Caps’ Gordie Howe hat trick in more than seven years.
The Caps have a banged-up blueline, as Brooks Orpik, Christian Djoos and Matt Niskanen are all out with injuries, so they’ve leaned on Jonas Siegenthaler, Bowey and now Lewington to fill the spots.
Lewington’s first assist was secondary, as Evgeny Kuznetsov’s pass to Tom Wilson for a layup got the Caps on the board. But later, it was a drop pass from Nicklas Backstrom that gave Lewington space to snap a shot through traffic for his first career NHL goal in his second game.
“I kinda had some room, and saw the top glove and shot there,” Lewington told Craig Laughlin during intermission on NBC Sports Washington.
Meanwhile, Madison Bowey took a late first-period penalty, which the Caps killed off, then came into the second period and scored his first NHL goal as well.
Congratulations, Tyler and Madison!
Tyler Lewington scores his first goal as a Washington Capital for a 2-0 lead in Ottawa! #CapsSens #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/GhyvebeRRM
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 30, 2018
