Anteater! (Photo: Patrick McDermott)
Were you expecting a low-key game following the literal fireworks at the Winter Classic? The Caps’ home game against the Florida Panthers was kind of sleepy for a bit, but in the end this was another thrilling example of Caps hockey. Nice start to 2015.
The game was scoreless after twenty minutes, but don’t worry: the second period more than made up for the boredom.
Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal on an Ovi shot from the Ovi spot in the second. Vincent Trocheck got a ridiculous goal to tie it for the Panthers, and then Dylan Olsen used an abundance of screens to put Florida up 2-1. No worries though, as Brooks Laich sniped an outside goal just past halfway through #rego to knot it up again. Karl “Dad Strength” Alzner and the second line beat Luongo to make it 3-2 going into the second intermission.
Top-liner Andre Burakovsky swept in a lay-up from the weak side to put the Panthers in a two-goal hole in the third period. Nick Bjugstad scored an impossible goal with an empty net and two minutes left to make it a one-goal game late, but the Caps emerged victorious over an Eastern Conference rival.
Caps beat Panthers 4-3. Big two points.
- A quick note up front: We’re all part of the same community. The same family even. It’s no good when Caps people turn on Caps people. We should all be able to get along and respect one another’s personal space. Of course, I’m talking about this play:
- First, Jack Hillen collided with Mike Green, nearly completing his set. Then Evgeny Kuznetsov tripped over that heap of Caps laundry. The only player who could get back was Marcus Johansson, whose skate ended up banking the goal in for the Cats. One of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen in hockey. I loved it.
Another game of too many penalties, though Brooks Orpik stayed out of the box this time, and it’s not like I’m gonna mention his turnover in the defensive zone that would’ve been a goal if not for Holtby’s Holtbest. I’m not even gonna mention that.Note: Okay, Orpik put the Caps down two men in the final ten minutes with a penalty after I wrote this, but I’m keeping it anyway because I feel like it and also that was a diiiiive.- Karl Alzner‘s go-ahead goal at the butt-end of the second period makes three on the season for Dad. That’s his single-season career best. Karl’s shot rates are actually down from last season, but with excellent screening from the second line a shot like that has to go in.
That's some net-front presence. #Caps pic.twitter.com/BPRJSRqFDF
— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) January 4, 2015
- For whatever reason, Roberto Luongo did not return for the third period. Wild speculation: that collision with Ovechkin was a factor. Al Montoya backstopped the Cats in the final period.
- A puck got lost in Braden Holtby‘s skivvies in the third period, resulting in Holtby stripping to find it. The fans went nuts. You people at Verizon Center are deplorable, incorrigible, and I love you for it.
- Hockey is random. Barry Trotz gave his fourth line (Chimera, Beagle, and Wilson) a bunch of offensive-zone shifts in the first period, which went mostly poorly. After that, Trotz deployed them more neutrally, and they did fine. Nothing makes sense.
- P.S. Tom Wilson hasn’t been on for a 5-on-5 goal this season except when he’s with Alex Ovechkin. An hour of hockey and counting.
- Nate Schmidt was scratched yet again today, his 6th time this season. I wrote about Nate Schmidt’s Schmidtuation on this morning’s snapshot. In the comments, Reader Boush offered a good explanation of the Caps’ possible thinking here. Makes a lot of sense to me.
- Electric work by the Caps during that 5-on-3 in the final ten minutes. Braden Holtby didn’t have to make a stop during that two-men-down penalty kill, but he was electric throughout. It’s clear why Trotz is so happy to have Holtby play every single game– the guy is great.
- Andre Burakovsky did very well on the top line. He doubled up the Panthers in shot attempts, scored a crucial goal, and did pretty much nothing wrong defensively. Burra played with Ovechkin in games 9 and 10 earlier this season, but those were without Nick Backstrom as pivot. With that in mind, let’s see some more of this trio.
- I love that Nick Bjugstad goal at the very end. I don’t even care that it went against our preferred team. That was nuts. It’s like he gave the puck a will of its own. It was like a bloodhound tracking the back of the net through an obstacle course of crossbars and bodies.
- I just wanna say that I love this tweet.
Doing my job right then. RT @RedEagleBlog The guys doing Florida's radio broadcast just said @WesJohnsonVoice annoys them
— Wes Johnson (@WesJohnsonVoice) January 4, 2015
Joe B suit of the mid-afternoon
That was a good game. The Caps did that thing again. You know that thing? That thing where they play get super sloppy and discombobulated in the second period before they pull themselves together in the third. In a sense I’m distressed that they can be unhinged this easily. In another sense I’m relieved that they can get past it just as easily.
Catch you guys on Wednesday for a game against the Maple Leafs. Muahahaha. Love playing them.
RIP Stuart Scott, who made “weird” and “silly” a little more welcome in sports.
