I wanted to like Monday’s opponent, the Buffalo Sabres. They’re a young team with a superstar rookie and a good coach. Amanda’s a fan and she’s got decent taste. But then a dude hurt Justin Williams and then that same dude hurt Michael Latta and then he stomped around the ice as if he needed the Hulkamaniacs to re-energize him. At that moment I decided the Capitals must crush the Sabres, which is exactly what they did.
Alex Ovechkin scored on the first shift of the second period, one-timing a pass from Nick Backstrom from below the goal-line. Jay Beagle made it 2-0 with a gift of a goal.
Caps beat Sabres 2-0! Braden Holtby is perfection!
But first: RIP Lemmy.
- We’ll get to Braden in a second.
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hello
John Carlson did not play, a fact that has not been true since April of 2010, 412 games ago, back when the world was simple. (I predicted he wouldn’t play 82 last season, and I was happy to have been wrong.) Carlson is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and I bet he’ll play game number one of a new streak very soon.
- With Carlson out, it feel to Matt Niskanen and Karl Alzner to eat up a ton of minutes, which they did, but maybe not particularly well if you glance at the 5v5 shot attempts. Connor Carrick and partner Taylor “Soldier Spy” Chorney did great in that regard, but they didn’t get much ice time. I didn’t expect them to get much ice time, but I also didn’t expect them to get so little.
- In the second period, Justin Williams took a stick to the face from someone named Nicolas Deslauriers. Williams bled blood, but there was no call. Here’s the rulebook, check part 60; I defy you to tell me why there was no call.
- For his sassiness, Deslauriers was invited to punch Michael Latta, which he did, and then Latta fell down. Triumphant, Deslauriers celebrated by pumping his arms and skating down the ice. Then Jay Beagle scored. And we all shine on.
hockey players + smelling salts, feat. Deslauriers pic.twitter.com/hormlCMYsK
— steph (@myregularface) December 29, 2015
- Evander Kane took a puck to the mouth right after that goal. And the moon and stars and the sun.
- The Caps say Michael Latta suffered an upper-body injury. I have no idea what that means. I hope it’s just his hand. Actually, I hope it’s nothing at all. You know what I’m getting at, right?
- Tom Wilson: 3 assists in last 2 games. Jay Beagle: 2 goals and 1 assist in last 3 games. Great results for players who are close or below 40 percent possession in the last few weeks. Seriously, since mid-December, Wilson has been outshot 102 to 63. That hasn’t cost the Caps any wins, Wilson’s team have actually outscored opponents 6 to 3, which is remarkable, which is why it’s a bullet. This cannot last long.
- What did you guys make of Jack Eichel? I liked him, but I wasn’t over the moon like I wanted to be. Also, I looked up his name and it comes from the Old German word for glans. Just wanted to share.
- Big news on Braden Holtby: He didn’t lose his mask during the game! Oh, also he got a shutout, his second of the season. He’s not bad. He’s quite the opposite. He’s the best and the beast. Holtby survived two washed out goals, both correctly ruled. The latter was incidental contact at the hands of Tyler Ennis, who is going on my list, yes he is. Holtby looked shook up, which is not a way I’m used to him looking.
Related: Get the Holtbeast T-shirt
- This is not strictly hockey, but I wanna talk about it. I liked Courtney Laughlin’s intermission segment a lot. She’s a got a good hockey brain, and her experience in the sport (player, captain, coach, post-graduate degree-haver) exceeds her pedigree. I get the need for social media coverage on CSN’s broadcast, but I’d love her to join the analysis too, ya know?
Joe B suit of the night
We’ll see these guys again on Wednesday, when Eichel and Kane and Deslauriers will come to town. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing more about all three of those guys very soon.
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