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Caps beat Blue Jackets 3-2 in double overtime!

By Peter Hassett

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April 17, 2018 11:29 pm

The Washington freaking Capitals done did it again. Honestly. This stupid team. They got the lead, they lost the lead, they got the lead, they lost the lead, then overtime, then double overtime, then – in a twist – they won!

After a scoreless first period, Tom Wilson opened the game up with a nice tap on a nicer shot by Matt Niskanen on an still even nicer pass by Alex Ovechkin. Pierre-Luc Dubois notched a rush goal assisted by Artemi Panarin, but then the Capitals converted a big five-on-three with a one-time slapshot by John Carlson.

Artemi Panarin tied it up in the third period with a great two-on-one drive against Carlson, but made possible by Dmitry Orlov. That tie last through regulation, pushing us to our third consecutive overtime.

In double overtime, Lars Eller crashed the net to end it!

Caps beat Blue Jackets 3-2 in double overtime! Blue Jackets lead the series 2-1.

  • With Andre Burakovsky injured, Jakub Vrana returned to play and that worked out just fine. Vrana drew two pivotal penalties in the second period and generated some chances of his own. That more than makes up for his high-sticking penalty.
  • Speaking of those, Tom Wilson also got busted for a high-sticking. Unlike his previous two penalties this series, Wilson did not exit the box with the puck in the back of the Capitals net. From there, Wilson began a redemption tour, the highpoint of which being his deflection to put the Caps up 1-0 in the first period. Tom’s a divisive player, and he gave us a little of all of tonight, but there’s a real good hockey player in there.
  • Brett Connolly scored a goal on a scrappy rebound fight, but because he entered the zone slightly early/without control sixteen seconds earlier, the goal did not count. Those are the breaks.

  • Y’all. John Carlson is gonna get paid so hard. A UFA at the end of the season, Carlson added a goal to his six (6) assists already this series. When the Caps went up for the five-on-three, I got a lump in my throat. I’ve seen the Caps flounder with a two-man advantage too often, but that play with Carlson and Nick Backstrom was a beaut.
  • Artemi Panarin is really, really good. Fast and creative, he definitely outplayed his assignments, including Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov, who really goofed up setting up the breakaway for the game-tying goal. Orlov owes Carlson an apology gift basket.
  • Here are three depressing-ass stats from Dan Steinberg, Japers Rink, and Steve Levy:

  • What a stupid sport we watch. This is a dumb thing we do with our time.
  • Unsung hero (okay actually maybe he’ll be sung after all): Lars Eller slayed it on every single shift. Brooks Orpik, meanwhile… woof. In neutral deployments, he got positively buried, then committed interference at the blue line in the third period with the score tied. Numbers aside, he looked like was running at a different speed than the rest of the skaters.
  • Braden Holtby stood tall. A day ago we weren’t sure he’d play, but he looked calm and composed in net, unlike all of us. He was the difference maker.

I had a grizzly metaphor ready to go in case the Caps lost. That didn’t happen, so I’ll keep this short and sweet: They’re still alive!

Go Caps!

Full Coverage of Game Three

Headline photo: Jamie Sabau

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