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Late bloomers: Lightning beat Caps 4-2

By Peter Hassett (@peterhassett) on February 20, 2018 | 0 Comment

A slow start sunk the Washington Capitals against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night. The Caps really picked up the pace as the game wore on, but the early three-goal hole proved too deep to climb out of.

The Bolts came out hot. 21-year-old Brayden Point recorded two goals in the first period, separated by one from Chris Kunitz. Lars Eller got a dart on a second period power play. With nine minutes left in the third, Alex Ovechkin notched his 594th on a wrister from the faceoff dot. Nikita Kucherov returned fire to keep the Richard race going, beating Braden Holtby on a 1-on-0.

Bolts beat Caps 4-2.

  • Sooooo about the whole sixty-minute effort thing. Maybe next time. The Caps got outshot 18 to 14 in the first period (attempts) and outscored 3 to 0. By midway through the third, the Caps had taken control, but by then it was too late.
  • The Kunitz goal came at the end of a long shift with Tampa constantly on attack against the Jay Beagle line and Brooks Orpik/Madison Bowey pairing. That combination has had a rough season, but it hadn’t been hurting the Caps’ goal total until just recently: three opponent goals in the last three games. With Kempny waiting in the wings, I wonder when’s the next time we’ll see Orpik-Bowey.
  • Lars Eller had this lovely power-play goal in the second period while all the Bolt penalty killers paid attention to Ovi on the other half of the ice. His 12th of the season.

  • It was another game of domination from Washington’s top line. Tom Wilson, Nick Backstrom, and Alex Ovechkin were on attack seemingly every shift, with Ovi flirting with 20-plus shot attempts just two games after going oh-fer. His goal waited coyly until the final ten minutes, but it was inevitable with that much volume. Ovi’s goal count is at 36, ahead of Malkin at 33 and Kucherov at 32.
  • Was… was Kucherov’s breakaway goal… even deliberate? Sorta looked like he lost control of the puck and it went in anyway.
  • During the game, Elliotte Friedman published his 31 Thoughts column, which included an enigmatic tidbit about John Carlson and a new contract. He says the Caps are eager to sign now, but – and get this – “How Washington does could lead to further changes on the roster, which gives the Capitals a better idea of their salary structure.” I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS. THAT COULD MEAN ANYTHING.
  • Carlson, for his part, got positively undressed by Brayden Point on his second goal. I think it’s important for us to remember that Carlson’s defensive numbers are virtually identical to Brooks Orpik’s.
  • Having given up three goals in the first twenty minutes, Holtby was subject of ire from some folks. I really wanna reiterate how bad the defense in front of him has been. Holtby’s save percentage is nearly identical to Jake Allen’s and Ben Bishop’s, but check out the differences in the shots they face.

(Via hockeyviz)

A decent game after a terrible start. With the playoffs a virtual lock, I wonder if tonight might have been useful at least as a statement about perseverance. I really did like how the team rallied in this one, even if the W escaped them.

Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Lightning

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