The Washington Capitals gave the Florida Panthers their first win of the young season as the Caps could never fully recover from a horrid first period that saw them give up four goals. The Panthers eventually would prevail in a shootout, downing the good guys 6-5.
The Capitals out-shot the Panthers 31 to 30 and out-attempted them at five-on-five 42 to 35.
- The Capitals much maligned fourth line was actually their most effective trio on the night. Dmitrij Jaskin, for example, was on the ice at five-on-five for 14 Capitals shot attempts compared to only one from the Panthers. Nic Dowd wasn’t far behind him and both had a plus-three scoring chance for differential.
- Adding to a good night from the bottom six, Lars Eller ended up with three assists and Brett Connolly, Jakub Vrana (moved to the third line mid-game), and Devante Smith-Pelly all scored.
- The Caps penalty kill is becoming an issue. They’ve dropped to 72.4 percent on the season and have let in at least one power play goal from their opposition in four straight fixtures now.
- Pheonix Copley was stellar in relief of Braden Holtby, stopping 18 of the 19 shots sent his way. I’m pretty confident in young Copley moving forward.
- Next three games for the Caps are on the road in western Canada against three teams in the Canucks, Oilers, and Flames that most would assume the Caps should beat. We shall see how they do.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com, NaturalStatTrick.com, and Corsica.hockey.
Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Panthers
Headline Photo: Patrick Smith
