Capitals Beat Rangers After Alexandar Georgiev Throws Stick to Stop Alex Ovechkin in Shootout
Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev threw his stick at the puck before Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin could even get off his attempt during Washington's 3–2 shootout win on Sunday.
Ovechkin had faked out Georgiev, vacating a large, unguarded area of the net that the 11-time All-Star was surely to take advantage of. Instead, Georgiev threw his stick at the puck, preventing Ovechkin from shooting.
Initially, the play was not ruled as a goal, but officials corrected it after review. As NHL.com's Tom Gulitti noted, Rule 25.4 states that "a goal will be awarded when a goalkeeper attempts to stop a penalty shot by throwing his stick or any other object at the player taking the shot by dislodging the goal" during the course of a shot.
Washington was awarded the win, improving to 38–7–21 on the season.