The thing about losing hockey games is that it’s a bummer. It means the other team got to hug way more AND they got to give their goalie pats on his lil noggin after.
However! Just because the end result (…and performance…) was bad against the Blues on Monday doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot to appreciate. Let’s dig in!
Pregame Notes
BATYA IS 1000 YEARS OLD!
…wait.
*fact check*
HE HAS ALSO PLAYED IN 1000 NHL GAMES!
"The guys like Brooksie don't even have to say something because we made a mistake, the next game we are not going to make the same mistake again. I think that's good for coaches and leadership guys." – @Kuzya92 #Orp1k https://t.co/bEgj9ox10s
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 14, 2019
Holtby was back from his eye injury! He was also back-up for Pheonix Copley.
Holtby is feeling better 😄 pic.twitter.com/FhobYvN0f8
— HockeyKot (@hockeykot) January 15, 2019
Welcome home spanking from TJ Oshie: crucial.
During the Game
Reminder that is was a 4-1 loss and the Caps as a whole looked terrible. That being said, Tom Wilson looked good.
"All eyes are on Tom Wilson."
well, blues dudes, you ain't wrong #allcaps pic.twitter.com/qFpZeT2OX9
— b. (@youripides) January 15, 2019
Tragically, he looked better on the bench than he did on the ice. 🙁
He punched Joel Edmundson in the face during a scrum that developed after Pat Maroon got all up in Ovi’s grill. And yes, uninvited face-punching is bad, aaaand also as someone who has seen many Blues games I must say it is a very Edmundson move. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? Maybe?
"NO ONE TOUCHES OUR MAMA"
-tom punchy-punch wilson after maroon messed with ovi. 🤦♀️ pic.twitter.com/GICDKNRrVt
— b. (@youripides) January 15, 2019
This also happened.
tom wilson goes *BOOM* in a shoulder-to-shoulder fashion & alex pietrangelo goes *flail* in an amusing but painful fashion #allcaps pic.twitter.com/qzZ4YgrVeI
— b. (@youripides) January 15, 2019
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
bee tee dubs Nicklas Backstrom has a lovely face.
nicklas is hungry pic.twitter.com/cSBY1kYqQg
— b. (@youripides) January 15, 2019
He may also hunger for human flesh.
…¯\_(ツ)_/¯
HUGS
Ovi scored though! He is now 14th highest in goal-scoring all time! He has SO MUCH HUG EXPERIENCE!
captain hug. good hug. #allcaps #stlblues pic.twitter.com/wp3E9La7Bn
— b. (@youripides) January 15, 2019
Okay. Now that we’ve covered the one good thing Capitals did during the game it’s time for the Blues’ hugs.
Blues Hug #1
Hard to tell if this is lovable on its own merits or because of how much Ivan Barbashev looks like Jakub Vrana.
Blues score. Blues hug. Hmmph. #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/AElqDJYQ50
— b. (@youripides) January 15, 2019
Blues Hug #2
This hug? Is a TERRIBLE hug. What even is this.
The Blues are having a bad season but I didn’t think it was THIS bad.
Blues Hug #3
Colton Parayko is really big and really sweet so this hug is okay.
Colton Parayko. Is good at hugging. Send tweet. 🙁 pic.twitter.com/zdHGKuX37A
— b. (@youripides) January 15, 2019
Blues Hug #4
This is too many non-Capitals hugs. WHY THIS GAME GOTTA BE LIKE THIS.
LOOK AT THIS BORING HUG. UGH.
After the Game
John Carlson and Devante Smith-Pelly invited the Metro Maple Leaf youth hockey team to the game to recognize their anti-racism efforts.
Yep, the Caps stunk on the ice. But they were world-class off of it.
Also, happy birthday to Alan May! Please don’t murder Ian.
I’ll take all of that as a compliment and remember I know the basement in which you dwell https://t.co/CqUUqRJx4S
— Alan May (@MayHockeyNBCS) January 15, 2019
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Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Blues
Headline photo: Patrick McDermott/NHLI
