The Washington Capitals defeated the visiting Calgary Flames on Sunday, but most people will remember this game for the Washington Nationals’ gleeful, rowdy celebrations in the crowd. Oh, and Jakub Vrana’s first-ever hat trick.
The tired Flames struck first as Dmitry Orlov turned the puck over so that Andrew Mangiapane could score. The Caps responded with two slick goals from breakout stud Jakub Vrana, but Elias Lindholm tied the game in the last two seconds of the first period.
Vrana completed his hat trick with a breakaway goal in the second period to restore Washington’s lead and collect a bunch of World Series championship hats. Lars Eller added a power-play goal in the third period to make sure Vrana did not hog all the limelight.
Caps win 4-2!
- Here’s something I wrote earlier today:
Ovechkin’s not even leading the Caps in offense rates. It’s actually 23-year-old Jakub Vrana who is attempting more shots than anyone else on the team. Ovechkin takes 20.5 per hour; Vrana takes 21.8, second highest in the league behind Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher. It’s going to be a big, big year for Jake.
- So yeah, it was a big, big night for Jakub Vrana, who scored his first ever hat trick. He’s got five goals in his last two games, which isn’t bad if you think about it. Kuznetsov got the primary assists on all three of Vrana’s goals — or at least he should have; the scorekeepers appear to have taken the second one away from him. Vrana’s really found a new gear this season; he’s a blast to watch.
- I mention the Kuznetsov assist as a corrective to my recent stuff about him. He’s now strung together several strong games. The Flames, despite playing tired at the end of a long road trip, were pretty tough on Sunday, but Kuznetsov won pretty much every shift. The same couldn’t be said for the Jensen-Siegenthaler pairing or the fourth line. (Man, Dowd needs to come back soon.)
- As soon as I wrote that last bullet, Kuznetsov had a bad penalty in the offensive zone. Ha. He’s incorrigible.
- I have no idea what Jonas Siegenthaler did that justified a roughing calling in the second period. I’m assuming the refs wanted to make sure there was a matching minor for Mangiapane, so they picked a Cap at random to serve time. That was the gentlest roughing I’ve seen in a while.
- I just want to take this moment to welcome Captain to The Resistance.
meet my new best frend @whatwouldDOOdo pic.twitter.com/2rxZY0WR4S
— Captain (@CapsPup) November 4, 2019
- I didn’t know much about Sean Doolittle before the last few months– aside from what I heard on Resting Pitchface of course. I like him a bunch. Good guy. Also, if you’re a Nats fan or baseball fan, may I please recommend Resting Pitchface?
- Dmitry Orlov coughed up the puck to give Calgary their first goal, then got busted for a delay of game in the final minute. Not his best night overall.
- Please: if you must drink mass-produced domestic light beer, please drink it quickly and through your jersey.
Blue suit. That tie reminds me of that laser background they used for my middle school photos. #JoeBSuitOfTheNight #CapsFlames pic.twitter.com/Km5uteLrLG
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) November 4, 2019
In one way this was Jakub Vrana’s game, but in another way it was the Washington Nationals’ big night. The World Champions took a lovely team photo before the game, they chugged beer, they took their shirts off, they threw hats, they threw beer, they threw balls, they were horrible, gleeful, celebratory boys. They just need a fountain.
We are on the record saying this is good.
It was the perfect opposite of this vibe:
What a special time this is. I’m so happy for all my friends who are Nats fans. I’d tell you to enjoy this, but I know dam well you already are.
The Caps now have a couple days off, then they’ll head down to Florida to take on the Panthers on Thursday. See you then!
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