Can we all agree that we like the beard? (Photo: Patrick McDermott)
The Caps’ last game before the All-Star Break began crackling with excitement, but quickly settled into the quiet urgency of a bunch of guys eager to get home for a long weekend. They couldn’t even manage to do that well, as the Caps squandered an early, healthy lead and lost in the gimmick.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice in the first period, first with a slapper on a delayed penalty and then again with an Ovi shot from the Ovi spot. Edmonton’s own number eight, Derek Roy, returned fire by beating Matt Niskanen to the niskanet. Before we hit intermission, Jay Beagle scored and there was much rejoicing.
Nikita Nikitin put the Oilers within one goal late in the second period while Niskanen was in the box.
In the third, Nick Backstrom tipped in John Carlson’s long bomb to put Edmonton back in the two-goal hole where they belong, though I guess maybe we forgot to tell them that. Teddy Purcell got a quick little snapper to Holtby’s far side to make 4-3 in the final five minutes, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tied it in the final 100 seconds, forcing overtime. Overtime didn’t do nuffin, so you know what’s next.
Shootout bullets!
Oilers beat Caps 5-4 in the shootout. That was dumb as hell.
State of our union would be a little stronger if the Caps could get another goal or two off these Canadian scrubs.
— RMNB (@russianmachine) January 21, 2015
View this post on Instagramthis is how it's done in dc. #caps #sotu #bingo
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Joe B suit of the night.
The Caps should’ve won this one 6-1. It is totally unacceptable for them to have lost. It is totes unaccept.
One-goal games are to good hockey teams what particle board is to good furniture.
But the state of our hockey team is strong. Alex Ovechkin is a force of nature and Braden Holtby is as reliable as a sturdy, American-built automobile.
But they could be so much stronger. Where’s the desire to get a three-goal lead? How about they just hold a lead for once? And where’s the restraint to commit penalties? Where’s Nick Backstrom’s 400th assist? Where’s Ovi’s opposite winger? When everyone gets back next week, I wanna see that stuff and a whole lot more.
Go Caps.
p.s. I’m totally not recapping the nonsense of the ASG. It’s break time for me too.
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