Mike Green took a stick up high and for a few moments had no clue where he was on the ice. He finally pulled himself up and raced for the bench, but had not yet made it over the boards before the puck was resting in his own net.
It was an inauspicious start to a roller-coaster night for the Caps defenseman. He was on the ice for three Carolina Hurricanes goals, including an ugly turnover that led to a shorthanded score – and a tie game – with less than seven minutes left in the third period. But he was also on the ice for the game-winner – his own. Green finished a how-did-he-do-that pass from teammate Nicklas Backstrom to lift Washington to a 4-3 overtime win at Verizon Center on Friday night.
It wasn’t textbook. But Green will certainly take it. The Caps (20-6-6, 46 points) won for the seventh time in eight games. They also remained undefeated against Southeast Division opponents at 8-0 and still hold the best record in the NHL.
The game-winner came on a wonderful pass by Backstrom. From behind the Carolina goal he floated the puck over teammate Alex Ovechkin and two Hurricanes players. It bounced a bit, but still nestled on Green’s stick.
“It was a sick [pass],” Ovechkin said. “I thought he was passing it to me and then I see Mike and I say, ‘Wow.’”
Green was all alone just a few feet in front of goalie Cam Ward and fired the shot home to win it at 1:16 of overtime. It was Washington’s second overtime game-winner of the season – forward Brooks Laich had the other against the New York Islanders on Oct. 24 – and the 10th game-winning goal of Green’s career.
“For him to make that pass through two guys and over [Ovechkin’s] stick to me – even if it bounces I still have lots of time,” said Green, who was sporting the hard hat afterwards as player of the game. “That’s just an incredible play by Nicky. Seriously – not many guys can make that play.”
That was a relief for Green, who had his struggles. The first Carolina goal – a 2-on-1 for Brandon Sutter and Jiri Tlusty – wasn’t his fault. Though coach Bruce Boudreau yelled at him for staying down on the ice too long before Green told him he’d actually blacked out after taking a stick to the jaw. So Green was on the ice for all three Hurricanes goals. But he was also on for a pair of second-period tallies by teammate Alex Semin.
Those changed the momentum of the contest. The Caps outshot Carolina 14-4 in the first period and yet were down 2-0. They were dominating again – at least according to the shot tracker – in the second, yet almost fell behind 3-1 when Tuomo Ruutu directed a puck into the net with his skate. The puck definitely deflected off Green’s skate before sliding past goalie Jose Theodore. But replay officials in Toronto upheld the ruling on the ice. No goal.
That took on added meaning when Semin skated onto a breakaway pass from Backstrom in the waning moments of the second, was stopped by Ward and then flipped the rebound over the sprawling goalie with .6 second left. That tied the game at 2 and sent Washington to the dressing room with all the momentum. Forward Tomas Fleischmann then scored at 2:52 of the third to put the Caps ahead. They remained ahead until Green’s miscue led to Gleason’s goal.
“Really good players – if they’re having a bad game – still have a tendency to step up and still be in the limelight,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Mike struggled a little bit and our power play struggled, but in the end [Backstrom] made a great play to him and he scored the goal.”
