Kyrou Scores Twice, Then Sets Up Tuch Winner as Capitals Win Three Straight

By Taki Panos

Two nights, two wins, and Jordan Kyrou right in the middle of both. The Greek-Canadian forward scored twice as the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 at home on Wednesday, then set up Alex Tuch's winning goal as Washington edged the Nashville Predators 4-3 on the road on Thursday, per NHL.com and Field Level Media. That makes three straight wins for the Capitals, who now sit at 8-4-0.

Wednesday was the big one for Kyrou. It was the last game of a five-game homestand at Capital One Arena, and Washington finished it 4-1-0, per NHL.com and WashingtonCaps.com. Tuch opened the scoring just 1:50 into the game, burying the rebound of a shot from defenseman Jack St. Ivany, who was making his Capitals debut after being claimed off waivers from Winnipeg.

Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier tied it 1-1 at 4:36 of the second period, tipping in a Nick Seeler point shot. Then came Kyrou's moment. Trevor Zegras was called for slashing Tuch, and just 11 seconds into the power play Kyrou fired a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle past Joseph Woll for a 2-1 lead at 7:14, per NHL.com and WashingtonCaps.com. Dylan Strome had the pass that set it up.

Aliaksei Protas made it 3-1 at 16:47 of the second, deflecting a Matt Roy point shot, and the Capitals carried that cushion into the third. The Flyers did push back. Matvei Michkov scored on the power play at 9:44 to make it 3-2, and for a few minutes the home crowd had reason to be nervous, per NHL.com.

Kyrou settled those nerves. At 12:51 of the third, a St. Ivany shot deflected off Seeler in front and Kyrou was waiting at the right post to knock it in for 4-2, his second of the night, per NHL.com and WashingtonCaps.com. Tuch added an empty-net goal at 17:36 for the 5-2 final. Strome finished with three assists, and Logan Thompson made 23 saves.

Kyrou's line on the night was two goals on three shots and a plus-one rating in 15:34 of ice time, per Washington Hockey Insider. Asked why his line with Tuch and Strome was clicking, Kyrou told NHL.com, "It's hard to say. I think mostly just time. Practicing together, kind of getting to know each other's little habits on the ice." Strome called it probably the team's "most complete 60 minutes."

There was no time to celebrate. The Capitals flew straight to Nashville for the second game of a back-to-back, per WashingtonCaps.com, and the Predators struck first. Filip Forsberg scored on a 5-on-3 power play at 12:48 of the first period, before rookie defenseman Cole Hutson tied it 1-1 at 16:13 with a wrist shot from a tight angle, per NHL.com and Field Level Media.

The rest of the game was a real back-and-forth. Boone Jenner put Washington ahead 2-1 at 4:15 of the second, Forsberg answered at 9:09 with his second of the night, and Hutson scored again at 13:46 to make it 3-2, his first two-goal game in the NHL. Ross Colton tied it 3-3 on a rebound at 6:34 of the third, per NHL.com and Field Level Media.

Then Kyrou made the play that decided it. At 10:09 of the third, after Juuse Saros gave up a rebound on a point shot from Jakob Chychrun, Kyrou collected the puck below the goal line and fed Tuch, who rifled a wrist shot from the left face-off dot over Saros' blocker for a 4-3 lead, per NHL.com and Field Level Media. Charlie Lindgren made 24 saves to see it out.

It was Tuch's 10th goal of the season and his fifth in three games, and he now leads the NHL with five game-winning goals, per NHL.com. The night also had a bit of history in it. Alex Ovechkin, playing his final regular-season game at Bridgestone Arena, recorded the 874th regular-season win of his career, matching Jaromir Jagr for seventh most in NHL history, per NHL.com.

For Kyrou, the two nights continue a strong run since his move from St. Louis in the summer. He had eight points (three goals, five assists) in five games after Wednesday, per NHL.com, and Thursday's assist makes it nine points across his last six. That is a long way from the start of the month, when he scored his first goal for the Capitals against Seattle and then added a goal and an assist against Montreal.

My take: the goals on Wednesday will get the headlines, but the pass in Nashville might say more about where Kyrou is right now. On the second night of a back-to-back, in a tied game on the road, he was patient below the goal line and found the open man instead of forcing a shot. That is a player who trusts his linemates. If the Kyrou, Strome and Tuch line keeps this up, Washington have a real top line on their hands. For more Greek and Greek-heritage results from the rink, the court and the pitch, keep an eye on our Greek Sports section. Three wins in a row. We will take them.

Sources: NHL.com, WashingtonCaps.com, Field Level Media, Washington Hockey Insider.

Image: Jordan Kyrou in 2019 by TheAHL, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).