Best player of the game in my book. (Photo: Patrick McDermott)
The Washington Capitals dominated the Florida Panthers at possession on Saturday, but getting the puck in the net is another matter. A couple penalties in the third penalty made this thing way more competitive than it should have been. Another game that took 65-plus minutes to decide.
Eric Fehr sent a wizardly pass to Jason Chimera, who scored the goal’s first goal with a nice backhand. Brad Boyes tied it up by swatting in a loose puck during an early third-period power play. That goal forced overtime.
The dry scrape was a bunch of nothing, so let’s do this… ugh… again.
Shootout bullets!
- Kuznetsov put the biscuit in the basket
- Huberdeau put the biscuit in the basket
- Backstrom put the biscuit in the basket
- Jokinen did NOT put the biscuit
- Ovi put the biscuit in the basket
Caps beat Panthers 2-1 (shootout)!
- The Caps still haven’t lost a game in regulation this season. Standings points, delicious standings points.
- Like I said before, the Caps had this one in hand all along. Three of the four forward lines were well in the black at shot differential, and the fourth– Evgeny Kuznetsov‘s line– seems to habitually dump the puck in at the blue line. It was a stirring performance by the Caps, and that’ll be reflected in tomorrow’s snapshot. (Update: the third line plummeted late in the game and finished below 50 percent.)
- But shooting ain’t scoring. The Caps got a bunch of pucks on backup goalie Al Montoya, but couldn’t get ’em through. The Swede had a golden opportunity, and Jason Chimera could’ve made it a two-goal game but the percentages weren’t on their side.
- Justin Peters did fine in his first start. I’d like to see him get a solid 30 games this season– the idea of a number-one goalie playing 70+ games a season is unwise.
- I gotta think that fourth line would be better if it were Wilson, Kuznetsov, and Latta– though I’m not sure I’d want them all doing that kind of work.
- This was the 500th game of Nick Backstrom‘s NHL career. His buddy Alex Ovechkin is a lightning rod for attention, so Backstrom has been overlooked all along. Backstrom seems to be okay with that, and he’s been a pleasure to watch. I look forward to the next 500. No 500th point for him tonight though, and if you have a problem with that, please talk to Ian about the post he had queued up.
- Brooks Laich left the game after taking a nasty shot from sentient pile of trash, Shawn Thornton. Laich used to be a resilient iron man. Let’s see how he does.
- Last time I checked, Alex Ovechkin had one shot on goal during rego. His shot during overtime was a MONSTER though.
- It was kind of an uneventful night, so I asked peeps what they were drinking tonight. 21 and up only. Here’s what you guys said.
https://twitter.com/mig991/status/523644261175394304
https://twitter.com/leegreenwood83/status/523644279542267904
@russianmachine let's go Caps! pic.twitter.com/zXRTyWkIWc
— JMizzle (@TheRealJmizzle) October 19, 2014
https://twitter.com/Alex_R83/status/523644445036933120
https://twitter.com/TheMizCB/status/523644459570171904
https://twitter.com/Big_Stick_001/status/523644488368259072
@russianmachine Watching @washcaps Listening to @TheHersheyBears pic.twitter.com/TTmZex4ajO
— Jeff Zeiders (@jeffroz1) October 19, 2014
@russianmachine weddings don't have the best options. pic.twitter.com/1HWoQWV4zv
— Matthew Cockerham (@MatthewFoy1981) October 19, 2014
@russianmachine pic.twitter.com/HVdY4Bh0Ph
— Ryan (@RPShanahan) October 19, 2014
@russianmachine wild turkey and coke pic.twitter.com/pfmZzw8M52
— Commanders20and0 (@Washington20an0) October 19, 2014
warm milk!!!!!!! RT @russianmachine Let's play a game. If you're having a drink tonight, tweet a picture of it at us. pic.twitter.com/P2iyGGj64S
— Kim Thong iLL (@wzzntzz) October 19, 2014
(gross)
@russianmachine watching in GA pic.twitter.com/UyxsJZWFuS
— Sean (@S3AN706) October 19, 2014
@russianmachine founders all day IPA and #CapsCats pic.twitter.com/CvgrDWh8n9
— jeef 🇵🇸 (@haulin_oates) October 19, 2014
https://twitter.com/cletusbeauregrd/status/523644749396602880
@russianmachine Founders Breakfast Stout. Mmmmmm mmm. pic.twitter.com/GHVMomgPHe
— GetchaGrubbOn (@GetchaGrubbOn) October 19, 2014
https://twitter.com/BZback/status/523644838873681920
https://twitter.com/BenHarris_1/status/523644864614105089
@russianmachine pic.twitter.com/22goIlPXxA
— Tanner M (@tmacintyre_) October 19, 2014
@russianmachine pic.twitter.com/GhGOzJbBDR
— Tim Foltyn (@Tim_Foltyn) October 19, 2014
(same here)
@russianmachine Go Caps! pic.twitter.com/29Y5xJLvLz
— Matthew Kory (@mattymatty2000) October 19, 2014
@russianmachine double fisting pic.twitter.com/J7BK4qOIMF
— Katie Brown (@katiebhockey) October 19, 2014
@russianmachine Here ya go! #GoCaps at a #Sens game but always a Cap at heart! pic.twitter.com/GyWeGvzvKj
— Shea Angus (@BigMouthShea) October 19, 2014
@russianmachine pic.twitter.com/uy7YPpHVSQ
— Junior (@bigtomp68) October 19, 2014
@russianmachine #CapitalsTalk pic.twitter.com/psLkoLcIpJ
— Shawn Donaghue (@shawndonaghue) October 19, 2014
That was fun! You guys are awesome.
Joe B suit of the night
No excuse for this one to go to overtime, but oh well. The Caps are still undefeated in #rego.
Have a great night, everyone! Come back Sunday at noon for the snapshot. Next game is on Wednesday.
