Capitals vs. Predators: Rookie Cole Hutson Scores Twice and Alex Tuch Wins It in the Third

Nashville threw a party before puck drop, honoring former Capitals coach Barry Trotz with a pregame induction into Nashville's Golden Hall. Then a rookie defenseman from the team Trotz led to the 2018 Stanley Cup crashed it. Cole Hutson scored twice, Alex Tuch stayed red-hot, and the guests left with the last word.

The Washington Capitals beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena, with Tuch's wrister from the left circle at 10:09 of the third breaking a 3-3 tie. Washington did it on the second night of a back-to-back, a day after beating Philadelphia 5-2 at home, and walked out with its third straight win.

A Seesaw in Smashville

Nobody could hold a lead in this one. Charlie Lindgren kept the Capitals afloat early, stopping a Filip Forsberg breakaway about two and a half minutes in, but even he could not do much about a 5-on-3. Ryan O'Reilly teed up Forsberg at the left dot and Forsberg hammered a one-timer at 12:48 for a 1-0 Nashville lead. Per the AP, it was Forsberg's third straight game with a power-play goal.

Washington answered at 16:13. Jack St. Ivany took a Pierre-Luc Dubois pass and moved it down to Hutson low on the right side, and the rookie fired from a tough angle and beat Juuse Saros. Hutson was refreshingly honest about it: "It took a lot of luck," he said. "I took a look up and saw a little space there, so kind of just a hope play, and lucky that it went in."

The Capitals grabbed the lead at 4:15 of the second off an offensive-zone faceoff that came with a second left on a Washington power play. Boone Jenner won the draw, Martin Fehervary put it on net, Aliaksei Protas created havoc in front, and Jenner fished the loose puck out of the scramble and lifted it under the bar for his fifth of the season. Forsberg punched right back at 9:09, slipping behind the Washington defense, dodging Lindgren's poke check and tucking the puck inside the right post for his first multigoal game of the season.

Then came Hutson's encore. After St. Ivany rimmed the puck in, Protas peeled it off the left-side wall and slid it into the middle, and Hutson walked straight down the slot and ripped it top shelf past Saros at 13:46. Lindgren turned away Adam Edstrom twice from point-blank range early in the third, but Ross Colton was there to bang home the leftovers at 6:34 and tie it again. Three ties, three answers. The fourth answer belonged to Tuch.

The Kid, the Newcomer and the Finisher

Hutson finished with two goals in 18:26 and a plus-2 rating, the first two-goal game of his career. Per the Capitals, he is only the fifth rookie defenseman in franchise history to score twice in a game, and the first in more than three decades. He now has four goals on the season, which is a ridiculous number for a first-year blueliner in October.

St. Ivany assisted on both Hutson goals and became the first player in franchise history to post multiple assists in each of his first two games as a Capital, according to the team. "He's unbelievable," Hutson said of St. Ivany. "Easy to read off, really defensive."

Protas set up Jenner and Hutson for two assists in 19:33, and Washington coach Spencer Carbery singled out his work on the second Hutson goal. "Big Pro makes a real nice play, a real high end, undercover play to pull that puck off the wall and get it to the middle for Cole," Carbery said.

Tuch's winner was his 10th goal of the season, and the Capitals note he has scored in three straight games with five goals in that span. Lindgren made 24 saves on 27 shots for his third straight win.

For Nashville, Forsberg scored twice in 21:39, Roman Josi had three assists in 22:56 to push his season total to 14 helpers, and O'Reilly's helper stretched his point streak to four games, per the AP. Saros made 25 saves on 29 shots.

A Shot Designed to Be Saved

The winning goal was a set play disguised as a harmless one. Jakob Chychrun slid a shot at Saros that Saros could handle easily, and that was the point. Jordan Kyrou, skating in his 500th NHL game per the Capitals, won the race to the loose puck just above the goal line and found Tuch in the left circle. Tuch spun and snapped it past Saros on the short side.

Washington clearly had a plan for a goalie who loves to play the puck. "Chychy, honestly, a really, really smart play to throw that off the goalie to just try to give us more possession there," Tuch said. Carbery added that everything leading up to the shot "was really well done by our group."

The Numbers That Swung It

• 34-22: Faceoffs, Nashville's way, a 60.7 percent clip that kept the Predators in it.
• 29-27: Shots, a nearly even night that came down to finishing.
• 1 for 3: Nashville's power play, with the lone goal coming 5-on-3. Washington went 0 for 2.
• 5: Tuch's goals over his last three games.
• 3: Josi's assists, all of them wasted.

Where It Leaves Them

Washington is 8-4-0 with 16 points, 2-2-0 on the road, and has won five of six. The Capitals say this is their first three-game winning streak of the season and their first sweep of a back-to-back with travel this season. They get a breather before hosting Minnesota on Sunday.

Nashville falls to 4-4-5 with 13 points and 3-3-2 at home, and the Predators have lost four of their last five. That five in the overtime-loss column tells the story of a team that keeps hanging around and keeps coming up a goal short. Tampa Bay visits on Saturday.

A Rookie Headliner in Music City

Nashville spends most nights selling out stages for established stars. On Thursday, a rookie defenseman stole the show, and a newcomer on the blue line kept setting him up. Tuch had the closing number, but this was Hutson's set, and the Capitals have to love how the kid is playing to the crowd.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes and notes from the Washington Capitals on nhl.com; additional details as reported by the Associated Press.