Whole Latta love: Center’s goal, assist spark Capitals past Senators, 2-1
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Version 0 of 1. If there was ever an occasion for a fight, this was it. Michael Latta, a player who has shown no hesitancy to drop his gloves with 14 bouts in his NHL career, was just a fight short of a Gordie Howe hat trick Wednesday night. That Latta had the first two elements — a goal and an assist — was the biggest surprise. Latta has more fights this season (four) than career goals (three after Wednesday). But for a fourth-line player like Latta, every shift is an audition for more ice time, so he thought of his team first and kept his gloves on. His time on the ice and an unexpected scoring touch lifted the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at Verizon Center. “If you play the way I do, it’s always in the back of your mind,” Latta said of the feat that gets its name from the Detroit Red Wings great. When it gets a goal from the third or fourth line, Washington is undefeated in regulation, and Wednesday night’s victory kept the Capitals (22-6-2, 46 points) atop the Eastern Conference standings and extended their winning streak to three. “It’s easy to sit back and go, ‘Well, you know, the big guys will [score]. They’ve been doing it, so let them do it,’ ” Capitals Coach Barry Trotz said. “I think it’s just being aware that that’s not good enough.” With less than six minutes left in the first period, defenseman Dmitry Orlov flipped the puck into the offensive zone, and Latta sped to it for a breakaway. He dangled and then roofed the puck past goaltender Andrew Hammond. “Going back to my junior days,” Latta joked. As the goal horn sounded, Latta’s expression was one of surprise, his mouth wide open. “I was just trying to get on the puck as soon as I can,” Latta said. “I think everyone lost it, and it just popped right in front of me. I mean, on the fourth line, you need those bounces.” Latta has acknowledged that he’s at a crossroads. At 24, he’s still young, but his results have not met expectations. It’s a contract year for him, and he came into the season with the goal of never being scratched. That lasted all of two games before he was replaced by Chandler Stephenson as the fourth-line center. He was naturally frustrated and disappointed, but Latta eventually won his job back. He didn’t score a goal all of last season, but he got his first of this season in an overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Nov. 13. He hadn’t had a multi-point game since last Dec. 18, almost exactly a year ago. As the puck started to skid out of Ottawa’s zone in the second period Wednesday, Latta, who had just taken a hit at neutral ice, had a poke check on Curtis Lazar, sending the puck back into the offensive zone. Defenseman John Carlson got to it and relayed it to Justin Williams, whose saucer pass through traffic set up Carlson’s one-timer. Latta said Williams looked over to him first but then fed Carlson, which Latta joked “was probably a smarter play by him, finding John there.” After Trotz tinkered with his bottom-six forward formations recently because he wanted to see more production, the third line responded with two goals in as many games. One of the changes was scratching Latta for two games, but even with him in the press box, the fourth line continued its drought of going five games without a point. The Capitals don’t depend on the fourth line to score, but production from the bottom-six forwards has trended toward success for Washington. The Capitals are 12-0-1 when the third or fourth line has scored. That Latta’s goal Wednesday came early in the game was also a good sign; Washington is 16-1-0 when it scores first and 10-0-0 when it leads after the first period. “Especially when it’s Latts, who’s been out of the lineup the last few games, just numbers-wise, and he comes in and plays a big role in the win, that’s huge,” goaltender Braden Holtby said. “If we’re going to be a really good team for the entirety of the year, you need four lines.” The Senators cut the Capitals’ 2-0 lead in half with a late power-play goal by Bobby Ryan after a Tom Wilson match penalty for a hit to the head of Senators forward Curtis Lazar. Holtby, who finished with 26 saves, withstood the late push with the one-goal cushion, needing the scoring support from an unlikely source earlier in the game. “When you’re kind of in my position, you’re always fighting the numbers game every year,” Latta said. “. . . It’s always huge when you get a couple. I thought I’ve played well this year, but tonight, I got the bounces. That’s kind of how it goes.” |