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Caps beat Flyers 3-2: Superb on Super Bowl Sunday

By Peter Hassett

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February 7, 2016 3:42 pm

ovi-scoar

It’s Super Bowl Sunday! Before you eat a bunch of super unhealthy food and then lose all productivity at the office on Monday, let’s rap about the Caps win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Caps looked sluggish in the first, giving the Flyers an early lead when MDZ knifed a redirected slapshot. The Caps rallied in the second, scoring twice on consecutive shots, the first knifed by Alex Ovechkin and the second knifed by Dmitry Orlov.

Carrying a lead into the third period, the Caps promptly surrendered it as Nick Schultz knifed a goal after a Caps icing. No matter: Matt Niskanen wrested back the lead by driving between the Philadelphia and knifing a gorgeous goal single-handed.

Caps beat Flyers 3-2!

  • Friends, the Capitals power play is turrible. Gone 0 for their last 17 opportunities, the Caps seem to sucking primarily in the neutral zone. They need Marcus Johansson back ASAP.
  • Then again, the PK was perfect so I’ll not complain too much. Though Karl Alzner’s second penalty in the first period was a scam, by the way, and I’ll be writing my congressperson.
  • Alex Ovechkin always seems to kick it up a notch on Super Bowl Sundays. A lot of his attempts were blocked today (5), but he seemed distinctly determined– like he does around this time every year. I admire the attitude, but there is no reason on earth for the dude to be blocking 2 percent shots in February when the Caps have the division lead by a billion miles.
  • Last game’s escape goat, John Carlson, was pretty damn solid in his Sunday showing, putting up one of the best on-ice shot-attempt differentials (61.5 percent), primarily due to that tremendous second period showing.
  • Matt Niskanen hadn’t scored since the first week of the season, despite generating a ton of shot attempts (second on the team behind Ovi). And then, out of nowhere, he busts out this work of art:

  • Evgeny Kuznetsov, the league’s primary assist leader, has averaged way over a point per game lately (16 in 10).  Andre Burakovsky is riding a seven-game point streak. Young guys doing work could be huge after April, meanwhile…
  • Tom Wilson seems to be playing a game only incidentally parallel to hockey rather than playing hockey itself. In the second period, Wilson slammed Ryan White from behind for no apparent reason. I imagine Dale Hunter would say it was not not a hockey play. I’m constantly befuddled.
  • Braden Holtby could be beaten only by outside slapshots. Weird.
  • Please read the Sunday Snapshot. Perhaps publishing it at 11 PM on a Saturday was a tactical mistake on our part. It’s a real good read, I promise.

No Joe B suit, but please do say hi to resident artist Rachel and f.o.t.b. Jenn!

Another uneven effort, but again the right result. The Caps’ survival of that miserable first period is thanks to Braden Holtby, who noshed on a lot of close-up slot shots. But Washington’s rebound in the back 40 was a team effort, and the goal scoring came from stars and depth and ice-cold dudes alike. I can dig it. Can you dig it?

Go Panthers. Knife it.

Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Flyers

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