The evil geniuses at NBC Sports knew what they were getting when they secured the Capitals and Flyers for Rivalry Night. This was a nasty game, even if the Caps won it handily.
Nick Backstrom opened up the scoring with a rare call-his-own-number snipe, then Evgeny Kuznetsov did the same on the power play. The Flyers struck back with a Brayden Schenn goal from way outside. Things looked grim, but then Kuznetsov added an another with a tip-in by Radko Gudas. Alex Ovechkin woke up in the fourth, crashing the net to make it 4-1 with a final touch by TJ Oshie.
Caps beat Flyers 4-1! But man, was that ugly.
- The Flyers actually (well not actually but stay with me) scored in the first period. The goal was disallowed for goalie interference because Dale Weise gave Holtby a shove before the puck went in. That was embarrassing for the Flyers, and then it got even better.
- In the second, Ivan Provorov thought he scored and started celebrating. In actuality, he just rang the crossbar and the puck bounced harmlessly out of the crease. Whenever I get sad, I’ll watch this video of the refs breaking the news to the fans.
#Flyers fans react to second overturned goal tonight pic.twitter.com/yiyRmxC6Cn
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) February 23, 2017
- Centers Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nick Backstrom each recorded lovely goals. For Backstrom it was further proof he’s among the best scorers this season, for Kuznetsov it was a startling example of his otherworldly skill.
- Things turned for the worse there. TJ Oshie got roughhoused by Sean Couturier, then Matt Niskanen was injured by Radko Gudas. Oshie was fine, but Niskanen ultimately left the game at the second intermission.
- Then tensions spilled over, leading to a confrontation among Orlov, Nick Cousins, Gudas, and ultimately, inevitably, Tom Wilson.
- Following that, Niskanen’s injurer Gudas was the one who tipped in Kuznetsov’s second goal with his skate. Sweet revenge on the scoreboard.
- With two goals, Kuznetsov’s 5-on-5 game was surprisingly weak. In a matchup against Chris Vandevelde, Kuznetsov’s line often got hemmed up in their own zone before turning it around late.
- On the other hand, we got a superb performance out of the fourth line of Wilson, Winnik, and Beagle. They were tenacious and quick, and I was surprised and humbled.
- It was another quiet night for Alex Ovechkin until late. Ovi lacked a shot on goal until he crashed the net with five minutes left. TJ Oshie appeared to get the final tap, earning him his 24th of the season.
- Michal Neuvirth is bad. That is all.
Dmitry Orlov what are you doing to your upper lip of the night
It’s a nice win to take from an ugly game, but if the Caps miss Matt Niskanen, their best defenseman, for any length of time, it will quickly hurt their on-ice performance. If that’s the price for two standings points in February, it’s not worth it. Yech. I hate Flyers games. It’s like winning means less to them.
Now everyone join me in wishing happy birthday to Elyse!
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