Photo credit: Mitchel Layton
Friday night’s meeting between the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens was an exciting one. The only thing that muddled the joy is that funny feeling that this may be one of the last times we see this version of the team play..
Mathieu Perreault got on the board by redirecting a Jason Chimera pass along the crease that Tomas Kaberle deemed not worth his time. Jason Chimera took the puck for an 80-foot stroll, pushing Carey Price into the net along with the puck. 16 seconds later, Marcus Johansson dropped a pass to Dmitry Orlov, who set up Alex Ovechkin waiting in the circle for a one-timer. That shot found the back of the net, giving the Caps a solid 3-0 lead going into the third.
Rene Bourque ended the shut out (actually 260 minutes and 4 seconds long) with a shorthanded goal. Joel Ward got the empty netter, and that was that. Caps beat Habs 4-1.
First, I’ve been waiting several games to use this picture. Doesn’t it describe the mood perfectly?
Mike Knuble was scratched for this pivotal Friday night match-up. Andy Strickland of truehockey.com reports that multiple teams are interested in 22. It’s possible we may never see old Kanoobs in Caps red again. If that’s true, we owe him a tribute post. Or 50. Submit your art now.
Captain Alex Ovechkin returned to action after missing Wednesday’s game, apparently due to a bruise on his leg. Ovi recorded 3 shots in the second period and none in the first and third. One of those shots was a pretty pretty goal. Talking to Al Koken during the intermission, Alex Ovechkin described the gravity of the team’s situation thusly:
Got it. Thanks, Cap. (Pic by @ThatWilcoxGuy)
We should mention that Ovi had a team-worst minus-7 Corsi score. His line was responsible for 3 shots on goal… and 12 against Neuvy’s goal.
In other news, our PUNCH THIS FACE campaign made a few appearances at tonight’s game.
Warm ups!
Taped to the wall!
Yeah, the Caps were outshot. Yeah, the Caps power play bit the big one. But the boys in red had fun in the offensive zone, they played tough in their own end, and dammit– even without Mike Knuble they crashed the damn net. Washington is still outside of the playoff picture, but they’re just a little bit closer now. And we’ll see Rene again– at the end of March.
See you guys tomorrow night! Have a good one.
P.S. – We did a little video blog thing after the second period. If that’s the kind of thing you wanna see more of, let us know!
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