On Saturday Monday night the Washington Capitals, wearing their thirds, just straight-up got boomed by the Philadelphia Flyers New York Islanders.
Anthony Beauvillier scored back-to-back goals in the first period — one a perfect tic-tac-toe rush goal, the other a desperate scramble in front of Ilya Samsonov. John Carlson fought back with a slapshot through traffic (that nearly hit Alex Ovechkin), but that rascal Devon Teows got a goal during four-on-four play to give the Isles a solid lead through one period.
The second period was bad also. Leo Komarov scored five-hole, then Jordan Eberle went the distance to chase Samsonov from the net. To save face, Lars Eller went buckwild in the crease and the power play scored on an Oshie Shot from the Ovi Spot.
The Caps looked a bit better in the third period, but a comeback was beyond reach.
Caps lose.
- We posted this earlier but the NHL Shop is offering 20 percent off all orders through midnight. The coupon code is TREAT20.
- Ilya Samsonov was pulled from net after allowing five goals on twenty shots. I say allowing, but come on. This was another game of defense self-sabotage.
https://t.co/GL1JAeLuPN pic.twitter.com/rQBmBV7jX2
— RMNB (@rmnb) February 11, 2020
- One of the chief offenders of all that Isles shot quality was Washington’s top line. Alex Ovechkin, in pursuit of goal 700, was on the ice for all five Isles goals. Was he focusing on an individual milestone at the expense of his team? No, I really don’t think that’s it at all.
- He did come awful close to notching 699 though.
- Back to Sammy: This was the worst performance of his season to date (tying in save percentage with that Boston game) and his second loss in a row. Not that it’s his fault. Not really. We all know what’s going on here.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov left the game in the second period with an apparent upper-body injury.
- TJ Oshie was promised a doughnut under one condition. At 16:59 of the second period, he met that condition.
- In spite of everything, Lars Eller and his whole line were great. So too was Braden Holtby, perfect in relief. That counts for something. Maybe. Meh, probably not.
Joe B looking amazing in this navy suit coat and fuschia tie combo #JoeBSuitOfTheNight #CapsIsles pic.twitter.com/l0u4RQ0ytq
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) February 11, 2020
I don’t want to talk about this game anymore. He’s something even more bummer-y: the Pittsburgh Penguins traded with Minnesota to acquire Jason Zucker. Zucker is a very special player. He does everything. He’s got a profoundly positive impact on possession and quality. And now he makes the Metropolitan Division a much tougher place to be.
It’s not a good time for the Caps to be not good. Let’s hope this whatever-this-is passes soon.
