Anteater convention (Photo: Alex Brandon)
The furious, points-laden month of December continues for the Washington Capitals, who stubbornly refuse to lose. Soundly outplaying the Ottawa Senators on a dreary Monday night, the Caps got a weirdly rare home win in rego.
The first period had a bunch of penalties but no pucks in the net. Jay Beagle summoned the weird superstar part of his skill set to get the Caps on the board first. Before two minutes had passed, Erik Condra nullified the Caps’ lead by ripping off Mike Green and beating Holtby. Papa Nick Backstrom made a great read on the power play to beat Craig Anderson and give the Caps the lead going into the second intermission. Holtby kept the Caps in it in the third.
Caps beat Sens 2-1!
The Caps did a great job frustrating the Senators on neutral ice. The Sens chased more than they attacked through 40 minutes, which might’ve been a factor in how chippy this game was early on.- Alex Ovechkin had three shot attempts in the first minute of play. He wants moarrrrr.
- Mike Green totally choked on the breakout that led to Erik Condra‘s tying goal, which snapped Braden Holtby’s shutout. It was brutal. If you pick that one moment, which represents maybe .002 percent of his career, as evidence of why Green sucks, rather than the fact that the Caps have outshot their opponents 8647 to 7268 and outscored them 383 to 331 while Green is playing during 5v5, then I dunno what to tell you except…
- On the other hand, the Senators pretty much shut down the Caps’ best during 5v5. Washington’s best possession came from the shutdown defense and the forward depth. Ovechkin got outshot, and Green got outshot, but Jason Chimera laid out his bedroll right near the Ottawa net.
- Jay Beagle had the soft hands and the hustle on his goal. That’s his fifth of the season, setting a new career high mark for Beags. Trotz put Beagle on the top line in the third period, which is such a rascally thing for him to do. Oh, Trotz, you lovable scamp, always making trouble, neutering your scoring line despite overwhelming and obvious evidence that it’s a mistake to do that.
- Yeah, that meant Tom Wilson got a demotion. He took shifts with Chimera and Latta in the third period, which is like when you try to meet girls at the bar while you’re hanging out with your coworkers. It’s not gonna happen, dude. You know it, I know it, and all the women at the bar know it. Just go home alone and play Halo.
- Why can’t the Caps score during 5v3? The Caps had a solid minute and six seconds of 5v3 in the first period got zip, zilch, nada. I’m not a tactics expert (you’re shocked, I know), so I’d like you to inform me what they’re doing wrong– if anything. Also, why don’t the Caps just play their 5v4 formulation when they’ve got the two-man advantage? That seems to work kinda well.
- I’d talk up Nick Backstrom, his wherewithal, his workaday whatever, his what you will, but I don’t want him to read this and get a big head about it. You just know he’s checking the Caps blogs after every game, soaking in the praise, and then getting all cocky. Instead, let’s just say he got his third goal in two games with a wizardly read of the Senators penalty kill. Backstrom is still– without a doubt– the most rated player in the NHL.
- One weird thing: the Caps out-possessed (measured in shot attempts during 5v5) the Senators when the game was close, but they weren’t on target much. The Senators almost doubled up the Caps in actual shots on goal (39 to 23). Hmm, I wonder if Craig Anderson prefers to see more shots.
- Braden Holtby is a good goalie. Don’t listen to the commenters below, who will certainly disagree.
Joe B suit of the night, featuring eye contact
A short aside: We have shipped Making RMNB Last t-shirts to all the U.S.-based contributors who picked a size. If you’re nearby, you should get your shirt on December 24th. If you’re far away, you’ll get it on December 26th. Please wash the shirt before you wear it. Also, please accept my apologies for no pregame post and no snapshot this weekend– the shipping and handling effort really took it out of me. And big ups to my friends at the Downtown Frederick Post Office. I’ll be bringing those ladies some donuts tomorrow morning.
So the Caps have not lost in regulation since December 2nd, back when you hadn’t even done your Christmas shopping. Now you’re all but wrapped and the Caps are sucking down standings points like it’s free Slurpee day.
No time to linger on it though. We’ve got a date with the New York Rangers (Mumps Count:4) at Madison Square Garden. Cover your gosh darn mouths when you cough and get your jabs, friends. Crash the net.
