VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Lars Eller scored 42 seconds into overtime and the Washington Capitals beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 on Friday night.

Evgeny Kuznetsov scored three goals for his second career hat trick and Alex Ovechkin had two assists for the Capitals, who are 4-0-1 in their last five games. Vitek Vanecek stopped 23 shots.

Bo Horvat scored twice, Quinn Hughes also scored and JT Miller had two assists as the Canucks snapped a three-game winning streak. Thatcher Demko finished with 30 saves.

In the extra period, John Carlson forced a deep turnover in Vancouver territory and raced down the ice with Eller on a 2-on-1, then sliced ​​a clean pass to Eller, who put a shot in the pads of Demko .

“That’s how it goes. These overtimes, I feel like it’s almost better to force the turnover than to get possession sometimes,” Eller said. “Whoever forces that turnover, he’ll get the 3v2 or 2v1 or a breakaway and that’s usually where the best quality chances come. Today we were on the safe side. Sometimes we We’re not. It was a big character win for us today.

Washington tied the score at 3-3 with a power-play goal with 4:53 left in regulation after Vancouver’s Tyler Myers was called for a head check by Kuznetsov.

A scramble in front of the Vancouver net set the stage for the equalizer, with Kuznetsov tipping a loose puck between Demko’s skate and the post for his third of the night.

Vancouver went into third down 2-0 but turned things around with three quick goals.

The Canucks cut the deficit just 57 seconds from the start of the period when Hughes fired a shot just inside the blue line and beat Vanecek on his blocker side.

Miller notched an assist on the play, extending his points streak to 11 games. The Canucks forward has seven goals and 16 assists since Feb. 9.

Less than two minutes later, Horvat tied the game at 2-2 on the power play after Eller was called off for tripping.

Miller passed the puck to the Canucks captain at the top of the slot and he sent a one-timer into the top corner of Washington’s net.

The story continues

Horvat added his 20th goal of the season at 4:59 and gave Vancouver the lead, backhanding the slot side.

The comeback effort was solid, Horvat said, but losing in overtime still stung.

“At the end of the day, we wanted those two points and every point from now on is going to be huge for us,” he said. “I thought it was great character of us to come back all the way and get that point. Too bad we couldn’t do the job. »

Demko was key in keeping the Canucks in the game, making big saves during a scoreless second period.

Ovechkin got a partial breakaway early in the period, only to see the Vancouver goalie stretch his left pad to make the save.

The All-Star guard also robbed TJ Oshie before the second was up, snatching his point-blank shot in the air.

Ovechkin briefly appeared to score on a power play early in the first period after Vancouver’s Nils Hoglander was called for holding. The Washington captain fired a rocket from the top of the face-off circle and the puck dribbled past Demko before a Kuznetsov dive knocked it over the goal line to make it 2-0.

Ovechkin remained at 766 career goals, tied with Jaromir Jagr for third on the NHL’s all-time goalscoring list.

Washington’s first of the night came less than a minute early and surprised just about everyone on the ice.

The puck came off the post behind the Vancouver net, then ricocheted off and hit the shoulder of Kuznetsov, stationed in front of the net, before bouncing past Demko.

“Coach is telling us to go more in front of the net, so I’m just going to be there and skate over there. And you know, a lucky rebound,” Kuznetsov said. “He’s one of those that almost every player wants to score those kind of goals. Those always feel good, you know. You don’t do anything and you get the goalkeeper. That’s always the one of the best feelings.

The goal extended Kuznetsov’s points streak to five games. He has four goals and three assists on the streak.

NOTES: Both teams went 1 for 3 on the power play. … Kuznetsov’s only other NHL hat-trick came against the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 23, 2015. … Ovechkin was booed as he hit the ice for warm-ups and on his first shift, but the crowd did not continue to express their displeasure. The Russian superstar received much frostier receptions in Edmonton and Calgary – cities with large Ukrainian populations – earlier this week.

FOLLOWING

Capitals: Host the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

Canucks: hosts Tampa Bay on Sunday.

The Washington Capitals returned from their six-day hiatus by dropping a road game to the New York Rangers. The Caps played well, I guess, but except once they couldn’t beat New York goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

Mika Zibanejad scored the first thanks to a freefall pass from Alexis Lafrenière, who scored in the second period after a failed clearance from TJ Oshie. Chris Krieder made it 3-0 in the third after another failed clearance attempt. Barclay Goodrow made it 4-0 in the run.

As a blessing to you directly, Alex Ovechkin scored to end the shutout with a minute left.

Caps lose.

• The Caps often got the puck, but they didn’t do much with it. When I last checked, the Caps took around 60% of shot attempts but only generated 52% of expected goals. That is to say that the convenient and obvious story is not the only story of the night.
• The practical and obvious story is the goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin hijacking ALMOST everything Washington had. Thank you Ovi for completing the statistics.
• TJ Oshie returned to play for the first time since January 15. This is only his third game of 2022. When healthy, Oshie is a huge boon to this team, so let’s give him some time.
• The Capitals tried new things on the power play. They had Ovechkin try to get close looks, they used Justin Schultz instead of John Carlson for a third-period spell, and they tried to let Nicklas Backstrom be the entry guy one or two times. None of that worked, and they also allowed some tantalizing chances on the penalty kill. Frustrating.

The Ryan Reaves Effect pic.twitter.com/6Gb1TzJO8I

— RMNB (@rmnb) February 25, 2022

• ESPN’s appeal was tasteless. It started with an insubstantial hyping by Tom Wilson against Ryan Reaves and was peppered with credulous statements about Reaves’ impact on the game. (Reaves got a secondary pass on fourth base.) Also, Leah Hextall’s analysis was inaudible to me. The only good thing the show did was remind us all the time how bad Washington’s power play was. We had almost forgotten about it for a moment.
• Conor Sheary, who bows to no one, fought Ryan Lindgren. So there is this.

Legend pic.twitter.com/tb60VnkxMB

— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) February 25, 2022

• Out of town: The Devils lit up the Penguins (6-1 at last look) and Nashville retired Pekka Rinne’s number. That’s only part of an excuse to share that amazing goalkeeper clip above.

viggo mortensen at rangers game pic.twitter.com/hy8nJEf8ju

— brej (@binaryskyguy) February 25, 2022

It was a bad game. You might wonder if the Caps really showed up or not. Thirty-seven shots is a lot, but it wasn’t enough of a challenge for this goaltender. Some uneven plays in the defensive zone. A power play always execrable.

I don’t know how this team doesn’t panic. They’ve been bad for two months now. They should change something. Nothing.

All the love and solidarity in the world to Ukraine.

Main photo: @real_jon_c

The Washington Capitals emerged victorious in a road game against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, but whether or not it was a good game is up for debate.

Joe Snively extended his strong start with a first-period goal set up by Conor Sheary. Nashville rang the iron four times but then beat Samsonov with a lucky rebound early in the third period. In quick response, Nick Jensen teamed up the Dowd line for a stunning goal, then Alex Ovechkin scored on the power play. Ovi added another with an empty thread.

The selections win 4-1.

• Joe Snively in eight games: three goals, three assists. Not bad for a Herndonian.
• justin schultz left the game after the first half with – well, we’re told it’s an upper body injury, but watch the video clip and let me know what you think.
• Alex Ovechkinhad tough times with Mattias Ekholm and Alexandre Carrier, but Ovi had his powerplay attack. His PPG ends a six-game slump and finishes at 30 this season.
• There was a lot of good in this game, but you have to admit that the Caps were very lucky. The Preds hit a lot of pipes and really controlled the game late in each period.

Nashville rang four times before breaking Samsonov’s shutout pic.twitter.com/LytxL0YG77

— Good Tweet Pete (@peterhassett) February 16, 2022

• I don’t want to remove Ilya Samsonoveffort. He had to make 15 saves in the first half, and he was damn good when needed.
• I just want to include a video of Jensen’s goal. This transition was smooth and everyone was involved.

• Connor McMichael broke ten minutes of ice time and had two great breakaway chances.

On the road once again! @JoeBpXpsaved this one, I’m sure. #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/OQNqViKGEe

— Good Tweet Pete (@peterhassett) February 16, 2022

Was it a good game? I do not know. It is complicated. Washington was outplayed overall, but the scorecard looked good. But it took a lot of luck to turn it into a happy result, and Washington’s five-on-five weakness continues unabated. But we had some great grinder plays, a big goal from a young kid, and Ovi boosted the stats. Again: I don’t know. Any win is pretty good I guess, but you decide in the comments.

Meanwhile, are we all staying up late Wednesday for the Canada-USA game?

Main image: NBC Sports Washington

A new coach for the Montreal Canadiens and a struggling Caps team is his first test. New magic trainer or new tragic trainer?

Joe Snively pounced on a terrible rebound for his first career NHL goal to open the scoring. Only twenty seconds later, Connor McMichael doubled the advantage. Carl Hagelin found one of his rare goals when he put the puck high on Cayden Primeau from a bad angle.

Rem Pitlick stuck in a loose puck to bring the Canadians to the board. Snively scored his second career goal, chasing Primeau out of the net. Cole Caufield beat Ilya Samsonov with a backhand.

Tom Wilson clears the net.

The Capitals beat the Canadians 5-2.

• The Caps benefited from some terrible Montreal goaltenders to take a 2-0 lead and generally started the game well. The power play ruined that momentum as usual and the Canadiens got into the action more as the period went on, which is annoying because they’re a terrible hockey team. You want to see more after the two goals in just twenty seconds, which is not what we saw.
• Joe Snively scored his first in the NHL. He’s the eighth rookie this season for the Caps to score their first, which would sound absolutely crazy to anyone like the “fronts” of COVID. In 2018, I would have thought half the roster was traded in a single offseason.
• Martin Saint Louis is much less threatening behind the bench. This man has tortured the Caps for too many years. What a player he was. Let’s hope he’s a bad coach as long as he pilots this ship when the Canadiens face the Caps.

A brief comparison of stats between James Harden and Ben Simmons. pic.twitter.com/hTic8Kz46x

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) February 10, 2022

• The Caps defense didn’t do well in the second. They didn’t take Canadians seriously at all and the laziness was evident. In no world should this Montreal team surpass you like they did with the Caps in this frame. 6-0 for Montreal in terms of high risk at five against five. It’s a joke.
• Joe Snively’s second was much prettier than the first. He absolutely burned Jeff Petry with a nice inside move and passed Primeau who was left sliding in the wrong direction. He makes it clear that he doesn’t want to go back to Hershey.
• Cayden Primeau showed one of the reasons the Habs suck this season. What an absolutely horrible performance from him with four goals against on 15 shots. He entered the game with an .874 save percentage and a 4.62 goals-against average, which will get worse after this one.
• I literally don’t even watch the game if the Caps power play is on the ice. Better for my mental health.

Ken Holland says, “you can’t win 5-4”, which is literally wrong.

— Adam Herman (@AdamZHerman) February 10, 2022

• The Caps did little or nothing in the third. Didn’t like the goals Ilya Samsonov conceded but he was tight in the third as the team in front of him stood tall. They were lucky to play who they were playing against. Yeah.
• Some of the smoothest referees in a game I’ve seen this season. I disagreed with four of the penalties. Call it that and you should have 56 penalties every game.
• This team is not playing good hockey right now, no matter how strong. It’s not fun to watch. We can only hope that this is just a crisis that turns around and soon.

seen here bearing the hue of an eggplant or similar vegetable, the incomparable and resplendent @JoeBpXp #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/N4dOG8qDiZ

— Good Tweet Pete (@peterhassett) February 11, 2022

Next up for the Caps will be a Super Bowl Sunday matinee in DC against the Ottawa Senators. Alex Ovechkin will be back in the lineup.

Screenshot via NBC Sports Washington

The Washington Capitals have lost six of their last eight games heading into Saturday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Could the Caps start to turn the tide and get back into the win column?

Thomas Chabot slammed a practice point to open the scoring for the evening. Zach Sanford burned through his former teammates, hitting a tight home on Vitek Vanecek.

Alex Ovechkin put the Caps on the board with his 28th goal of the season. He tied the game with his 29th. Nicklas Backstrom on the roof in overtime.

The Capitals beat the Senators 3-2!

• It took the Caps over 17 minutes to register their first shot on goal and they all came on the power play. The Sens, who are very bad by the way, held them without shooting at five against five. The offense has apparently completely dried up lately and I don’t think the front line Garnet Hathaway and scratch Daniel Sprong for two consecutive assists.
• People are getting their RMNB jerseys in the mail and it’s super awesome. If you get yours, be sure to take a photo and tag us on social media. If I see it, I’ll retweet for sure!
• Georegtown lost at home earlier today to Villanova in basketball, where the ice was laid for hockey. You could definitely tell. There are few things that annoy me more watching hockey than the horrible home rink.

I feel stylish at the edge of the rink in my new @rmnb sweater.

Hoping for the real Russian machine @ovi8 gonna tear it up tonight.

Let’s go Caps! @Capitals #CapsSens #ALL CAPS pic.twitter.com/zbbBQZ3kGh

—Charlie McManus (@CharlieMcManus9) January 22, 2022

• The energy was just completely absent in the second. Matt Murray was very good shorthanded, but I mean the Caps were slipping and barely in the five-on-five game again. Just a listless, somber effort against a team with literally half the Caps’ wins.
• matt irvin and Denis Cholowski were on for both goals conceded for forty minutes. Neither should be NHL players right now, but that’s what you have to deal with when your top three literal defensemen are out at the same time for various reasons.
• Zach Sanford, the owner with potentially pierced nipples, burned his former side with a second-half goal. Was that bullet just an excuse to pick up this story? Yes.
• 700th career game for Carl Hagelin. In my honest opinion it should be traded in to free up space to get a fender upgrade on the deadline. Sorry, Hags. Too many attacking talents keep leaving the roster every other day, it seems, and this team needs a shock.

The Hershey Bears’ Teddy Bear Toss game returned tonight after a two-year absence due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby scored the scoring goal. https://t.co/4c3gRa8bSg

— RMNB (@rmnb) January 23, 2022

• The captain scored early in the last frame and immediately brought his club to life. A pretty fantastic third period. Big win.
• Capitals apparently considering signing Evander Kane. Sadly.
• Chris Kreider literally scores every four hits. He does not exist. Ignore him. Alex Ovechkin is your true league leader in terms of goals and he is the best. Fantastic pass from Nicklas Backstrom to organize the second of the evening of Ovi.

A cool blue jacket for @JoeBpXp tonight, as well as cameos from Walton and Vogs in the #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/uwymtNRCyd

— Good Tweet Pete (@peterhassett) January 22, 2022

Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights is the next time the Caps will participate. The game is the first TJ Oshie will be eligible to come off injured reserve. Hopefully we’ll see some Teej!

Screenshot via NBC Sports Washington

The Washington Capitals lost to the Vancouver Canucks in a mixed game on Sunday afternoon.

Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring with an Ovi Shot from the Ovi Spot, but then Elias Pettersen scored twice (once on the power play, once on even play) to give Vancouver control. A power-play goal late in the second period by Bo Horvat made it 3-1 early in the third period.

The Caps converted their second (!!!) power play of the day early in the third with Tom Wilson at middleman. A penalty of too many men late in the game somehow stifled Washington’s comeback offer. The Canucks got an empty net and that was it.

Caps lose.

• The Vancouver Canucks dominated the game overall. They doubled Washington on five attempts to five in the first period, and they seemed to have plenty of second and third chances on their attacks. The Caps got better as they got more desperate, but it wasn’t one of their best even-strength outings.
• With John Carlson on COVID Protocol, justin schultz acted as installation man for Alex Ovechkin on the power play. Schultz gave Ovechkin two good looks before Ovechkin sank the third. Whether it’s Schultz knowing the mission or if it’s just the Canucks who are the worst PK team in the league, I’ll let you decide.
• With Wilson’s PPG in the third period, the Caps converted two power plays in one game for the first time since Oct. 27.
• Power play coach Blaine Forsythe was also on COVID protocol.

Garnet Hathaway blatantly elbows Tyler Motte in the face. Full low kick. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/7tEFLdmpml

— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) January 16, 2022

• Before the game, I rambled on the RMNB Discord to defend the Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway line. Of course, they stank today. Dowd was dominated on the face-off point, Garnet Hathaway committed a costly penalty, then a very dumb one, and Hagelin was fine, but I’m sure you Goblins will bring up the one rushing attempt he didn’t score on, so yeah, okay. I wonder if Hathaway could deal with some extra discipline for the overhead elbow.
• I’ve been exhausted from the keeper wheel since last April and it keeps spinning. After Vanecek’s shutout, Samsonov left a little to be desired, although I don’t want to overlook how badly the Bruce Canucks challenged him. It was a much tougher goalie game than the Islanders’ Saturday outing.

Oh yes, @JoeBpXp
the colour
*suspicious*
… blurry ?#joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/G141ACELjY

— good_tweet_pete.eth (@peterhassett) January 16, 2022

So it’s not a great game, but we got a goal from Ovi.

The Winnipeg Jets are coming to town on Tuesday, I heard. I was skeptical of this game being made, but all signs point to a Nate Schmidt reunion. He’s with the Jets, right? And hopefully they have been isolated from COVID due to lack of parks. See you later.

Main picture: @kristin0770

The always-depleted Washington Capitals played better than the Los Angeles Kings at home on Sunday night. It’s just that the scoreboard disagreed. Three unanswered goals blew up what should have been a scrappy win for the Washington Bears.

Connor McMichael scored in the run in the first period, assisted by hometown boy Joe Snively. In the second period, Justin Schultz waited just after a four-minute power play ended before scoring to make it 2-0. Blake Lizotte scored a shorthanded goal late in the second, then Christian Wolanin grabbed a big rebound early in the third to tie the game.

With just ten minutes remaining in the third, Adrian Kempe earned a lucky break by beating Vitek Vanecek with the puck rolling off his stick, giving the Kings the lead.

Caps lose.

• The Capitals had six power play opportunities in the first two periods, and they were upgraded at that time. Blaine Forsyth should be very grateful that Backstrom, Oshie and Kuznetsov are unavailable at this time. These are individually his quarterback, hidden dagger, and area entry key. They are collectively his excuse. The PP has one goal on its last twenty-one chances.
• Joe Snively grew up not too far from here, and on Sunday night he scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game. Snively had a great assist in McMichael’s opener.

this is a great photo (: @Capitals) Everyone appreciates a career moment for the new guy #ALL CAPS pic.twitter.com/WaFpB2vhJq

—Tim McDonough (@mcdonough23) December 20, 2021

• Calmly, Conor Sheary brewed a five-game point streak. Ian and I both loved when he attempted a goal line action on the power play.
• The officials were short of a linesman. You’ll never guess why unless you guess COVID. It was COVID. The shorthanded officials loved giving penalties, and this game was particularly hectic for no apparent reason I can discern. Excessive AHL energy?
• The Los Angeles Kings came up with a brilliant strategy to quit Alex Ovechkin: human shields. The Kings blocked eight. Missing most of his friends, Ovechkin played a ton of minutes in this one: 26:30.
• Vitek Vanecek didn’t face a ton of shots, but that rebound off Christian Wolanin to allow him to score for the first time since 2019 was really bad. Kempe’s goal was just a monster rebound in my eyes, but it’s hard not to see this game as a setback for him.
• Truly strong diffusion of the NBC Sports Washington team. We’ll miss them on Tuesday, which airs nationally (sort of) on ESPN+.

Well I guess we play this game #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/sV5hEzAjrj

— good tweet pete (@peterhassett) December 20, 2021

Yeah, that was unfortunate.

See you Tuesday as the Caps head to Philly. Or do you think this game will even happen?

Main photo: Pam Ford

The Washington Capitals traveled to Canada, which in itself is a dangerous situation right now, to take on the Winnipeg Jets in the new Canada Life Center. They did so without three of their usual centers.

Brett Leason opened the scoring, beating Connor Hellebuyck five holes from the slot. Daniel Sprong doubled the Caps lead with a nasty shot. Brenden Dillon scored one of his rare goals, peering blindly into the top corner above a thrown Vitek Vanecek.

Josh Morrissey took a shot on a power play to tie the score two. Conor Sheary broke the tie, blocking a loose puck in the crease. Michael Sgarbossa and Alex Ovechkin added empty rules.

The Capitals beat the Jets 5-2!

• The first half was weird. I barely felt like either team was playing defense, but at the same time, neither of the chances looked like A-grade opportunities. Ultimately with this lineup I didn’t don’t really care about the stats of this individual game. Just find a way to get at least one point (they did more than that but no spoilers).
• Alex Ovechkin was absolutely reprimanded Daniel Spring on the bench at the end of the first frame. It’s not something we’ve never seen before, as his screams against Ilya Samsonov received a lot of media coverage last season. Captain stuff. Maybe Daniel was trying to tell him Spider-Man spoilers.
• The power play sucks when the most talented offensive players are in it, so I expected them to do what they did tonight… which was nothing.

Yes. pic.twitter.com/1rql4ppN3B

– Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 18, 2021

• The Caps scored two goals in the second, but then fully braked for some reason. I didn’t like the way they played after winning two points and a Jets goal seemed inevitable. Without a few exploits from Vitek Vanecek, this game is at least tied for forty minutes.
• Brett Lesson has one of hockey’s best nicknames as “Owner” and apparently the rent was owed to Winnipeg as he scored his third career NHL goal. More rookie goals are helping this season for the Caps. I’ll take some more.
• Remember when Ovi was yelling at Sprong at the end of the first one? Well, whatever that worked, as Sprong now has goals in back-to-back games. Ovi gave her a huge hug during the celebration.
• Brenden Dillon can apparently score goals. He of course clinched his first of the season against his former team.

IT’S HOCKEY O’CLOCK! #ALL IN CAPITALS #LETGOCAPS #FlashbackFriday for me at 10 weeks and the very 1st #SantaOvie picture!!! #CapsBulldog #CapitalsBulldog #NakedOvie pic.twitter.com/9Hb7wzX3Ik

– Ovie the Bulldog (@OvietheBulldog) December 18, 2021

• The third seemed like a great response from a shorthanded Caps team. Great stuff, fantastic, fantastic victory.
• I was very critical of Michel Sgarbossa in the last recap and he responded by looking a lot more active in this game and recorded two runs, one being the empty net to seal things off.
• Vitek Vanecek was phenomenal. Truly a superb VV performance with 40 saves on 42 shots.

it’s gonna be a weird night, but at least dudes look good i like the pink / red combo on @JoeBpXp
#joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/xZPEnf7aYq

– good tweet pete (@peterhassett) December 18, 2021

Then, for the Caps, they’ll… hopefully?… Go home and face the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings just played against the Florida Panthers, so that should be awesome.

Screenshot courtesy of NBC Sports Washington

Nicklas Backstrom returned to the ice for the Washington Capitals and it was a magnificent sight. The only thing standing in the way of a perfect start to the season was the Chicago Blackhawks. Could they play the spoiler?

Alex Ovechkin scored on the power play to tie Dave Andreychuk for the most power play goals of all time. Alex Debrincat, Philipp Kurashev and MacKenzie Entwistle all struck seconds apart to turn the game around.

Daniel Sprong breathed some life into the Caps with an absolute rooftop snipe. Lars Eller drove the net and slipped a backhand past Marc-Andre Fleury to tie the game. Alex Debrincat with another power play goal.

Conor Sheary tied it with three seconds remaining and the goalkeeper fired. Caleb Jones winner of the OT.

The Blackhawks beat the Capitals 5-4.

• The first period felt like it took a while for a Caps team that had a few days off to get up to speed. They took over towards the end but unfortunately couldn’t find a salary. I thought the referees and linesmen were both remarkably bad during the period. Both Capitals’ penalties were soft, which is fine if you call them all, but they swallowed whistles the other way. I noticed some horrible puck drops on face-offs and some weird offside/pumping decisions. Normally I don’t like to complain about refereeing, but these guys suck.
• Marc-Andre Fleury has fucking puck magnets in his posts. This guy had a literal magical chance against the Caps this season.
• The ice cream in Chicago looked horrible. I half expected to see Alex Caruso’s bald head fly. I feel like I haven’t watched a Caps game this season at a rink that had “good” ice. This apparently only exists in Edmonton. I wonder who can play there half the season.

IT’S HOCKEY TIME! #ALL CAPS #LETSGOCAPS #SantaOvie #ElfSaffyBean pic.twitter.com/6Zn3TUZBMz

— Ovie the Bulldog (@OvietheBulldog) December 16, 2021

• Three goals conceded in 34 seconds. Yeah. The dumb part is that I feel like those 30 seconds were the only part of the second period where the Caps were “bad” and half of it was spent shorthanded. They still dominated five against five.
• Alex Ovechkin marked at least. He tied Dave Andreychuk for the most power-play goals. Nicklas Backstrom grabbed his first point of the season on the strike. Nick is awesome.
• Daniel Sprong looked like he was going to score the second the puck fell. He did the thing late in the second to breathe some life into his team after being shocked. What an absolute rocket on the roof. It was Alex Semin level dirt.
• The power play automatically looked better to me with Backstrom at quarterback. Never leave us again, Nicky.

“I love Sammy, I hope he loves me.” – Vitek Vanecek being the most famous professional athlete of all time.

— Chris Cerullo (@CJC_95) December 16, 2021

• Without MAF, this game is like 10-4 Capitals. This guy will apparently be in our nightmares until he turns 45.
• I’m sure he’s a good guy but Michel Sgarbossa literally does nothing. I’ve watched him for about 20 games as a Cap and he just skates in a straight line…that’s probably why Peter Laviolette likes him so much.
• Too many penalties taken, but I also think the referees were absolute rubbish in a way. No matter. The penalty must be better. I imagine.
• What an absolute struggle from Ovi to create that very, very, very late equalizer. I complained about Conor Sheary on Discord as 0.0001 seconds before scoring. Sheary is kind of the reason the Caps lost in OT then, but you just have to take that point.

a delay #joebsuitofthenight because Uncle Peter was busy doing minecraft tech support (badly) pic.twitter.com/6NyB4aYZHT

— good tweet pete (@peterhassett) December 16, 2021

The Caps will then travel to Winnipeg and leave some of their recent COVID protocol friends in the United States when they face the Jets.

Title image via @Lenkedup

The Washington Capitals faced the Buffalo Sabers for the second time this season. It was a hockey night in Buffalo as the Caps looked to bounce back from a loss to the Pens 24 hours earlier.

Lars Eller hit first as he potted a sassy feed from Conor Sheary behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Vinnie Hinostroza capitalized on a bad defensive change from the Caps and tied things up with a breakaway tally.

Will Butcher gave the Sabers their first lead of the game as he stepped into the game. Martin Fehervary tied the game once again as Alex Ovechkin gave him a receiving shot. We nada in overtime so here are your shootout bullets.

• Thompson did NOT put the cookie in the basket
• Sprong put the cookie in the basket
• The cozens did NOT put the cookie in the basket
• Kuznetsov did NOT put the cookie in the basket
• Olofsson put the cookie in the basket
• Oshie put the cookie in the basket

The Capitals beat the Sabers 3-2!

• The first half was not good. It was as if the Caps had spent almost half of the period managing a cycle of Sabers. No more neglect of the match against the Pens and this time on tired legs.
• By the end of the season, how often do you think we’ll hear Drew Brees tell us to live our sports betting life?
• I miss it Trevor van Riemsdyk. This shows when you can actually notice that a “Third Matchmaker” defender is out of line. TVR is awesome.

cuuuuuuuute pic.twitter.com/dFw2dLYsMr

– Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 11, 2021

• The second half was worse as the Caps simply walked through the period doing nothing. Lots of long passes to no one. Just absolutely no rhythm in their playing. Not funny.
• At least Lars Eller seems to have reached its rhythm. Goals in consecutive matches for the Tiger.
• Kyle Okposo’s scary stick high on TJ Oshie. It looked like Osh was bleeding, but luckily he survived any sort of damage to his teeth or eyes.
• The power play has been so conspicuously devoid of new ideas all season. It’s a literal chore to watch. The team seems perfectly fine to be content with fueling mediocrity (is that a word?) However.

A special Christmas delivery of @russian machine! Willow also had to show it. 12 years old and the future is still bright pic.twitter.com/PNilEZEw1B

– cara (@carabahniuk) December 11, 2021

• The Capitals’ third period looked like a different team. They finally made things five-on-five and moved their legs. An encouraging end to the game.
• I thought Vitek Vanecek was very good and that’s encouraging because I think he’s been a bit shaky on his other recent occasions. He just had to play in front of a very rusty, tired and injured Capitals team. I said something similar about Ilya Samsonov in the numbers released this morning before pitchforks were raised in the comments.
• Martin Fehervary scores a day after taking a glaring headshot from Brock McGinn. I was just glad he was ready to go tonight. Shame on the league for having done absolutely nothing about this coup.

#JoeBSuitOfTheNight #CapsSabres pic.twitter.com/xNQpj3mWvR

– Ian Oland (@ianoland) 12 December 2021

The Caps have a few days off before another game. They’ll be on the road in Chicago when things pick up on December 15th… hopefully healthier.

Title image via @ Jencapsfan74