Boo.
Happy Halloween, y’all! While you were out dressed as Donald Trump and acting like you were the only one to come up with that idea, the Caps were playing a sloppy first period in which they registered just five shots on goal.
Early in the second, Jussi Jokinen put the Panthers on top with a ground ball up the middle, a play in Alex Petrovic got an on assist after almost having his foot chopped off by an Alex Ovechkin slapper.
First-liner Jay Beagle got the Capitals tied with a net crashing goal that was totally legal.
The game went to three-on-three overtime and Evgeny Kuznetsov got it done. Caps top Cats 2-1!
- Superman dresses up as Evgeny Kuznetsov for Halloween.
- Kuzy has 13 points in 10 games.
- This recap was done in Ian’s basement.
- We had been so fixated on our own team’s travails these last few years, it was easy to miss how Florida had become a kinda decent team. They didn’t let the Caps traipse into the offensive zone on Saturday. It’s to their credit that the Caps were kept to so few shots.
- Last night, Andre Burakovsky got seven minutes of ice time. Every member of the third line received at least twice as much. Last night Barry Trotz told me “Burt’ll get more ice time.” He got a whole nine minutes tonight!
- I engaged in a bit of a rant last about Tom Wilson‘s ice time and how he was going to continue to disappoint unless he finally got the top-six minutes the Capitals have been promising him for years. So Trotz demoted him to the fourth line, only to place him on the first line at the start of the third. My heart! One shot on goal but three hits (!) for Willy.
- Schmidtuation update: majestic! Nate Schmidt sat out two thirds of Washington’s games so far this season, but he has now played in two straight. Getting the 3rd pairing’s typical limited ice time, Schmidt and Dmitry Orlov were well above water, with some of the team’s best possession numbers. He even lead the team in shots on goal at one point.
- Jay freakin’ Beagle. Thanks to Barry ‘Screw it’ Trotz, Beags got placed on a line with Alex Ovechkin and Justin William. He delivered with a net crashing goal that went to review and was somehow not correct. Beags was just a monster tonight, on the ice for 15 even strength shot attempts for and just five against. Gretzky who?
- Trotz saw fit to give Chandler Stephenson only eight shifts on Saturday night. If he got just eight fewer, a completely different player could suit up for the Caps next game.
- It’s nice that Phillip Grubauer has been playing the second game of Washington’s back-to-backs this season. He was tested in the first and held strong. It’s good that the Caps aren’t relying on Braden Holtby for everything this season. Grubauer has shown he’s a capable backup. He wasn’t at fault on the lone goal.
- The Caps were 0-2 on the power play tonight. They haven’t scored on their 7 PPs. Washington’s opponents have been playing them well, cutting off passing lanes. But had Ovechkin not shanked a few shots over the last two nights, the Caps’ power play might be back on top of the league.
- Trotz got out his TI-83 and used the random number generator to form the lines in the third period.
- The Capitals are now 8-2, which is tied for their best start ever over the first 10 games.
The Panthers were the better team tonight and probably deserved to win. BUT THEY DIDN’T!
Let’s end on an adorable note. I’d like to congratulate Yoshie Nathan and his wife Natalie on the birth of their first child, a son who may or may not be part reptile. We’re so happy for you two and we’re glad everyone is healthy. Also, RMNB offers no paternity leave. Please edit this post, Nathan.
Just a few hours old and already perfecting the Yoshi tongue. That's my boy! pic.twitter.com/yMsNyoVEIq
— Timothy Jimothy Yoshie (@tjyoshie77) November 1, 2015
