Much like me, the Washington Capitals got tired as Wednesday night wore on. After a thrilling start and convincing performance through 40 minutes, the Caps struggled against the surging Avs in the final frame. It was touch-and-go, but the Caps managed to secure the win before bedtime.
John Carlson scored early, stymieing the Avs after an ill-fated shorthanded chance. Some Caps D got caught looking as Mikko Rantanen got Colorado on the scoreboard. Kevin Shattenkirk had a goal, but Jay Beagle got the tip.
Shattenkirk tried to score again in the second period, but again his teammates snatched it (this time it was Johansson and Oshie, who both got touches). Johansson paid it forward, pulling power moves to set up Evgeny Kuznetsov, but Matt Nieto got a rush goal before the second intermission.
Nathan MacKinnon scored a scorcher in the third to make it close. The Caps were on their heels after that but held on the win as Lars Eller got the empty netter.
Caps beat Avs 5-3!
Yeah, this deserves a Bailamos. But it’s so late. Let’s go acoustic.
- The Caps have won six games in a row.
- The Avs were so aggressive on that early penalty kill. It burned them. The Caps’ goal was a 4-on-2. Its only weakness was relying on John Carlson not to miss the net.
- Kevin Shattenkirk isn’t going to score as a Washington Capital, and we all need to get used to it. Sure, he’ll put shots towards the net, but the other Caps sweaters are gonna jump in the way, as Oshie, Johansson, and Beagle all did on Wednesday.
SCORE BY BEAGLE
SCORE BY BE
SCORE B
SCOR
SC
S
SH
SHATTE
SHATTENKI
SHATTENKIRK WIL
SHATTENKIRK WILL NEVE
SHATTENKIRK WILL NEVER SCORE— elyse the fury (@ElyseBee) March 30, 2017
- The Ovi beard guy was at the game. As was the great @SticksForTroops. We coordinated the meet.
.@SticksForTroops meets the Beard Guy! pic.twitter.com/qAJvzWFSzG
— RMNB (@russianmachine) March 30, 2017
- Marcus Johansson pulled Rambo moves to help Evgeny Kuznetsov score his 18th of the season. Meanwhile, Johansson has 8 points in his last 4 games. He was one of the best players on the ice, but also in that conversation must be…
- Andre Burakovsky owned the offensive zone during 5-on-5 and had six shots on goal, most of them in the game’s first half. I include that last part because…
- After Nathan MacKinnon‘s excellent goal early in the third, momentum belonged to the Avs. Brooks Orpik took an iffy interference call, and then it was all Avs attack. That team has a lot of problems, but their transition/rush attack is pretty solid when their younger studs are on the ice.
Joe B suit of the night
I did not like that last period one bit, but I was fading too, so how can I hold the players to a higher standard than I hold myself? The answer: they’re paid a lot better than I am. That was a lame finish.
That photo at top of all the Caps fans at the game comes from @songprocess. They’ve got a site of interviews with songwriters that I actually happened upon in the fall, when they spoke with Baltimore’s own Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak, Flock of Dimes, Dungeonesse). It’s a great interview, full of insight about a craft that I find fascinating. Check it out.
Alright, one more late game on Friday night and then we return to the land of the living. K g’night.
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