Dennis Wideman gets hat trick to lift Washington Capitals over Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 -NHL Update
Dennis Wideman kept his scoring consistent throughout the match to ultimately achieve a hat trick, his first of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season, to lift the Washington Capitals over the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2, Friday night, December
9, 2011, at the sold-out Verizon Center in Washington, District of Columbia, United States.
Washington is still down by two points in the Eastern Conference at the eighth position with 31 points while Toronto sits at the sixth number spot with 33.
Wideman’s first hat trick of the season was not the only one this time around but his first ever since he joined the league back when the Buffalo Sabres picked him as the 241st overall pick during round-eight of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
Toronto’s, Jake Gardiner, went out with a two minute minor penalty for slashing at the 12:00 mark which gave Dennis Wideman a chance to pot his first on a power play to give Washington the go-ahead goal of the night 33 seconds later.
Wideman followed up on his own goal by scoring another straight in the opening two minutes of the second 20 minute period while capitalising on the power play which was given to Toronto for too many men on the ice served by Matt Frattin.
"Dennis is a smart player and he knows when to pass and when to shoot and he was bang on tonight with it," said Caps coach Dale Hunter. "It’s all decisions to make for a good power play. You have to read the defense just like a quarterback does. So he shot
some and he passed some, great decisions by him."
Phil Kessel potted his first of the night for Toronto to put them up on the scoreboard for his 18th of the regular season a little over midway through the second period while Nicklas Backstrom added another Washington goal to break the Maple Leafs
short lived for their third straight power play goal.
Cody Franson tried to build up the momentum once again with a breakaway goal at the 13:16 mark in the final period of regulation but with less than two minutes to go, Wideman found another power play opportunity to take advantage of and got his third of
the night to finalise the match.
"The third one went in off Brooskie [Brooks Laich]. I'm pretty sure that one's going to come back," Wideman said.
Washington hopes to get three straight against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday while Toronto has the next at home against the Carolina Hurricanes on the same day.
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