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Kicking off November with a blowout: Caps beat Sabres 6-1

By Peter Hassett

 1 Comment

November 1, 2019 9:41 pm

The Washington Capitals left October behind but kept their winning ways, kicking off November with a rousing W over the Buffalo Sabres.

Jakub Vrana scored early in the first period, followed by Chandler Stephenson, Vrana (again), and Brandon Leipsic. Buffalo got a weird bounce off Jonas Siegenthaler’s back to get on the scoreboard in the second period, but Tom Wilson tipped in a Michal Kempny shot to make it 5-1 after forty minutes.

TJ Oshie added a sixth goal in the third period to make it a blowout.

Caps win 6-1!

Buncha goals? Yeah, it’s time for some Bailamos.

  • Poor Linus Ullmark had a rough night in net for the Sabres. The Caps exploded for four goals in the game’s first eleven minutes. You know it’s really bad when Chandler Stephenson scores on you. Sure, it was a four-on-one, but still.

  • Stephenson’s line was really good though, even with Nic Dowd out with a lower-body injury. Travis Boyd stepped in adeptly, helping Brandon Leipsic to his first goal as a Capital. That line didn’t exactly drive play, but they made it count when they were on attack.
  • Jakub Vrana‘s goal totals keep climbing. With two goals on Friday, Vrana now sits at six on the season. I’m really liking what I’m seeing out of him so far. He looked especially hungry for a hat trick after his first two. I thought he was going to get the hat.
  • Aside from racking up goals, which is the most important thing, the Caps didn’t really control this game much. They outscored the Sabres 4-0 in the first, but Buffalo had more scoring and high-danger chances. Things stabilized later, but I have a feeling the video reviews for this game won’t be quite so kind as this recap.
  • I was very worried about Michal Kempny‘s play as he returned from injury, but he’s looked great. Plus he’s played great too. With this three-point night, he’s got more a point per game. His helper on Tom Wilson’s goal in particular was lovely.
  • Just wanna shout out our good friend Charlie, looking good with Ted here.

  • It was great to see Marcus “Joe Hanson” Johansson again. I adore that player and person, though I’m deeply uncomfortable with what Joe B and Locker shared during the broadcast. Apparently, since he’s left Washington, Mojo has preferred the hard J pronunciation his last name. I don’t know how to live in this world.

Fun game.

So Deadspin died today. In case you didn’t read it, it was a good place. They seemed to understand what sports was (i.e. anything, from one minute to the next) and allowed their writing to be the same. I always found them to be a kindred voice, and I appreciated all the support they’ve given us through the years. But that gratitude is somewhat spoiled by the petty way in which their site died.

It’s really, really, really, really hard to make a living doing this stuff. It’s virtually impossible to do it without compromising what matters to you. There’s a hard lesson here, and I’m still not entirely sure what it is. I think maybe it’s still revealing itself to us.

Anyway, RIP to a real one. Catch you next time.

Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Sabres

Headline photo: Patrick McDermott

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