Last season, the Washington Capitals used their western Canadian road trip to jump start their Presidents’ Trophy winning season.
Now it’s time for take two. The Caps headed into the brand new Rogers Place in Edmonton looking to find their “killer instinct,” according to Karl Alzner, after an inconsistent start to the season.
Despite the referees doling out eight PIMs in the first period, the game was scoreless after 20.
The Caps controlled the first 10 minutes of the second frame, outshooting the Oilers 7-0 in the second. Then the Edmonton fired their first shot on goal of the period. It went in. Ryan Nugget-Hopkins’s shot went off Benoit Pouliot, giving Edmonton a 1-nil lead. Less than 10 minutes later, Pouliot got another lucky goal when he banked the puck off Braden Holtby’s back.
Just nine seconds into the third, the Capitals had lift when Alex Ovechkin went from sniper to jackhammer in front of the net, scoring his a goal in his fourth straight game. Just over a minute later, however, the Caps got caught shadowing McDavid and Patrick Maroon gave the Oilers a two goal lead once again. Milan Lucic added — wait for it — another power play goal against the Caps. Oilers beat Caps 4-1.
- ALL HAIL THE EDMONTON SUN.
- This was the first time this year the Capitals have not scored in the first period and the first time this season they have not scored first.
- Washington’s special teams have been struggling. Coming into Wednesday night’s game in Edmonton, the Capitals penalty kill was the fourth-worst in the NHL while their previously deadly power play was clicking at just 12.5 percent. Well, I have sorta good news. In a tightly called game, the Capitals’ penalty kill looked sharp, killing off both minors it was tasked with in the first period. The power play was not successful in boosting its percentage, but managed six shots on goal in the first period alone. We’ll have to dive into the shot attempts later, but it looked crisp and ready to strike at any moment. In the second, the PP didn’t manage any SOGs on their one attempt. Still, a positive showing.
- Well, until the third period. Milan Lucic’s power play goal means the Capitals have allowed a PPG against in five of their six games this season. 😐 The Capitals keep insisting we’re simply looking at a small sample size, but the problem is that sample size keeps getting bigger.
- So, about these second periods. On Saturday, the Capitals outshot the New York Rangers 7-5 in the second period yet were outscored 3-0. On Wednesday night, in Oil Country, the Caps outshot Edmonton 13-7, but the Oilers notched two games. As Ovi might say, it’s hockey.
- The third started off much better. Just nine seconds into the period Alex Ovechkin scored his fourth-straight goal with another beautiful marker, whacking and whacking until the puck went past Cam Talbot.
- Talbot, meanwhile, was excellent. The Capitals peppered him with shots, but the former backup stood strong, with over 30 saves. Talbot has started every Oilers game this season and is a main reason for their early season success. He was named the NHL’s first star of the week a few days ago.
- Brooks Orpik leads the Capitals in plus/minus. There’s no joke here.
- His pairing with Nate Schmidt was Washington’s best of the night.
- Yesterday, I wrote a long article on the dangers of Connor McDavid and the Oilers first line. The Capitals were mostly able to control the phenom, but his supreme skating skills lead to the Oilers third goal, which sealed the seal and gave the young Oilers captain an assist McDavid added another helper on Lucic’s goal.
- So, the new lines. The new second line of Marcus Johansson, Nicklas Backstrom, and TJ Oshie were the worst possession trio for the Capitals, with just over two-thirds of shot attempts going the Oilers’ way, though Oshie led the game with five shots on goal. Previously, Backstrom’s line was the best in the NHL by a number of metrics. Hmm.
- The new first line center, Evengy Kuznetsov, was below the 50 percent possession watermark. So was Andre Burakovsky. Alex Ovechkin, however, had a stronger game, with his aforementioned game and seven shot attempts. But he had his faults too.
- I’m not a fan of these changes, at least through 60 minutes.
- Be jealous.
https://twitter.com/Chris_Gordon/status/791475688742191104
Fancy Joe B at a fancy new arena.
Last season, the Capitals did not lose two straight games in regulation all year. This season that steak lasted less than two weeks. A sleepy showing from the boys in white. So much for kicking starting a winning streak. And Barry Trotz’s line changes didn’t help.
#caps lose 4-1 in Edmonton and have lost back-to-back games in regulation for first time since March 11-13, 2015. #CapsOilers
— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) October 27, 2016
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