The Washington Capitals kicked off the homestretch of the Weird Year with an extremely low-scoring affair on the road against the New York Islanders.
First period: No goals.
Second period: No goals here either.
Third period: Nu-uh.
So onto overtime, where the Isles played actual keepaway until time expired.
Here comes shootout bullets.
- Eberle did NOT put the biscuit in the basket
- Oshie did NOT put the biscuit in the basket
- Beauvillier put the biscuit in the basket
- Backstrom put the biscuit in the basket
- Nelson did NOT put the biscuit in the basket
- Kuznetsov put the biscuit in the basket!
CAPS WIN! Shutout for Sammy!
- The Capitals had three days rest before this roadie, and that was perhaps too much. They were out-attempted in the first period 21 to 9, with just three on goal for Semyon Varlamov. That was a dreary start, but it got better.
- Except Ilya Samsonov had to do a lot of work to keep the Caps in the game before they woke up. He was magnificent, especially with this monster save in the first period.
locked in 🥪 pic.twitter.com/gAGe4M5r9M
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 22, 2021
- Congrats to both Sammy and Varly for the shutout (26 saves) and virtual, asterisked shutout (28 saves).
- After the first period, I really liked Washington’s play. They had the puck a lot (like 70-plus percent of attempts), though they weren’t able to generate any up-close chances. Crashing the net should become an imperative for Saturday’s rematch.
- Total loser Anthony Mantha did not score. Pathetic.
- Michael Raffl made his debut as a Capital, and you can see why coaches love him. He plays physical without getting reckless. Always seems to be in a safe position.
- Overtime was torturous. The Isles had the puck the whole time. Carlson got stuck on the ice for like three minutes.
#JoeBSuitOfTheNight #CapsIsles pic.twitter.com/D8TFrZ8sJg
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) April 22, 2021
I prefer my scoreboard like 8-7, but I can admit this was a pretty good game — once we got past the miserable first period.
Hey, here’s a thought: I’m sick of the Mass Mutual East division. I miss watching the Caps play other teams, like Detroit and Vancouver and Colorado, where all my listless sons have wandered off to play. By the way, Vrana, Panik, and Burakovsky all scored tonight. I don’t say that to make you sad or anything; I just wish the NHL didn’t feel so fragmented this season. I want to root for players and teams.
Anyway, see ya Saturday night.
RMNB Coverage of Caps at Isles
Screenshot courtesy of NBC Sports Washington
