Daniel Winnik, the only forward acquired ahead of the trade deadline by the Washington Capitals, has struggled to contribute with the league's best team, being held pointless through his first seven games since being dealt from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
That all changed Friday against the Nashville Predators, as the 31-year-old scored his first two goals as a Capital to record his first multi-goal game in more than three seasons, with his last one coming as a member of the Anaheim Ducks.
Tonight marks #Caps Daniel Winnik's fourth career multi-goal game and his first since Jan. 21, 2013 at CGY (2g, 1a).
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) March 19, 2016
His first goal came after a pair of incredible passes. Goaltender Braden Holtby sent a beautiful pass down ice to a wide-open Evgeny Kuznetsov during a Predators line change. The Russian then fed Winnik, who wristed the puck into the open net.
The Holtby pass is great.
— NHL (@NHL) March 19, 2016
The Kuznetsov pass is stellar. #NSHvsWSHhttps://t.co/F99Hcs2mTI
He sniped his second over Carter Hutton's shoulder to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead. The goal also marked the 200th point of his NHL career.
Dmitry Orlov goes on a skate before passing to Daniel Winnik for his second goal of the night pic.twitter.com/YjTiGh6axx
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) March 19, 2016
