Photo credit: Patrick McDermott
Although hockey has been back for over a week now, the lockout seemed longer to the Washington Capitals and their fans. Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres put a definitive end to that. The Caps were poised, aggressive, and — most importantly– victorious for the first time this season.
And oh yeah, Ovi scored.
John Carlson allowed a bad breakaway that became a goal for Tyler Ennis, but Joel Ward occupied the slot a few minutes later to restore the tie. John Erskine scored a sneaky goal from outside to give the Caps their first lead since the season home opener vs. Winnipeg. Then, Alex Ovechkin scored a glorious powerplay goal with a one-timer that went top shelf on Ryan Miller. Marcus Foligno got one back for Buffalo, feeding at Neuvirth’s trough to make it 3-2.
Caps beat Sabres 3-2!
I missed much of the last few games (Thanks for the assist, PuckBuddys!), and maybe that’s why I haven’t panicked about the Capitals. Sunday’s game was actually pretty damn encouraging. I liked the shot totals, particularly the volume of shots on the powerplay. I liked Neuvirth’s positional intelligence. I liked Schultz’s physical D, and Jay Beagle playing finesse hockey for a brilliant moment. I liked the Ward-Chimera pairing. I liked the horn guy’s embouchure. I liked Joe B’s suit (look at that stitching!).
It felt like Capitals hockey again.
Don’t get me wrong: I still want more offense, and the Caps won’t truly be back until someone’s groin disintegrates and the Canadian media talks trash about Ovechkin, but this is a good start.
See you on Tuesday!
From Caps Instragram
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