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The B team is undefeated: Caps beat Isles 6-3

By Peter Hassett

 2 Comments

January 28, 2021 9:36 pm

Welp. Without virtually all their star players, the Washington Capitals quickly fell into a three-goal hole to Barry Trotz’s New York Islanders. But then, some magic happened.

The first period was the pits. Oliver Wahlstrom opened up scoring with his first NHL goal, then Casey Cizikas scored on a wizardly deflection on the very next shift. Before the period was up, Anders Lee got a tip-in while Tom Wilson served a very soft penalty.

But get this: the Capitals scored five unanswered goals in the second period. The first two belonged to Conor Sheary — his first and second in a Caps uniform. Garnet Hathway tied the game with a rush goal, and then John Carlson’s power-play one-timer put the Caps back into the lead, which Zdeno Chara extended with a monster shot from the blue line.

In the third, the Caps stopped pushing. They withstood a late-game power play, then Tom Wilson sunk an empty-netter to lock in a huge victory.

CAPS WIN!

Six goals?! Our first Bailamos game of the year! Nothing is forbidden anymore.

  • Just a quick clarification: I’ve been calling this team the Caps, but that’s only technically true. There was no Ovi, Orlov, Samsonov, Kuznetsov, or Eller. Wilson was clearly not 100 percent, and poor Nicky Backstrom had a boo-boo. I’m going to keep calling this team who played the Caps though, because I love them, and Caps is a name I use sometimes for things I love.
  • Our Caps weren’t necessarily outplayed in the first period, but they sure were outscored. They handed Wahlstrom his first big-league goal, and no, I’m not tracking how many times that has happened recently. Cizikas’ goal was amazing, and Anders was the fault of a PK bad read –which is all to say that goalie Vitek Vanecek didn’t make any huge mistakes. He just didn’t make any huge saves.
  • Unrelated interruption: new jam from our friends in a few hours:

  • I had thought for a moment — and again, wrongly —  that Laviolette might have rested Chara tonight after some iffy plays last game. I under-appreciated how important experience would be to a random-ass lineup like we saw tonight. I’m very glad Chara played: he dominated five-on-five play, he assisted on Sheary’s second goal, and he  scored his first as a Cap to receive raucous celebration from his infant teammates.
  • I have been bullish (I think that’s the right word; I don’t play the stonks) on Conor Sheary since way back. He’s got a great shot, which is something the Caps have needed badly for more than a year now. With two goals to kick off the comeback, Sheary delivered.
  • Early in the third, Caps defender Justin “Jeff” Schultz took a puck to the face. I suspect it was to his nose, as there was a ton of blood on the ice. Schultz hustled down the tunnel and did not return.

I did not see that coming. Down three goals early and lacking almost all their elite scoring talent, I was sure Washington’s point streak would end tonight. I was wrong. I love being wrong in that way.

I don’t know what this team will feel like when The Four return, but the fellas who are here and playing right now — well, I like them a whole bunch. Sheary and Schultz and Siegs and Sprong and big Z? They’re my guys for as long as fate will allow, and I’m happy with that.

p.s. Ian owes someone an apology. Three chubby fuzzy someones.

RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Isles

Screenshots courtesy of NBC Sports Washington

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