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Eastbound and down: Kraken beat Caps 5-2

By Peter Hassett

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November 21, 2021 11:43 pm

The Washington Capitals were due for a stinker, and a stinker is what they provided in their first-ever game against the Seattle Kraken.

Tom Wilson beat old teammate Philipp Grubauer for the Caps’ first goal of the night. Jared McCann returned fire with a power-play goal to tie the game at first intermission.

Seattle scored goals inside a minute to start the second period. First, Jaden Schwartz converted the six-on-five for a delayed penalty, then Adam Larsson got a rush goal. Calle Jarnkrok did a pretty cutback to score on an odd-man break, making it 4-1 after two periods.

The Caps pressed early in the third period and got paid back with a nifty goal from Alex Ovechkin. The Caps kept up the attack, but their old goalie was ready for them. Gourde got the empty netter.

Caps lose.

  • At the end of a successful road trip, the Capitals I guess just ran out of gas. They were without TJ Oshie and Conor Sheary, forcing some weird deployments (Trevor van Riemsdyk took some forward shifts). Full-time defender Dennis Cholowski also made his Caps debut. The Caps looked better when they got desperate in the third, but this was not a good game for them overall.
  • The Seattle Kraken welcomed their prodigal son Vitek “Vitelli” Vanecek back to his old barn with a tribute video and also a buttload of goals. Seems like VV lost his preferred goalie spot to Samsonov for now.
  • Look at this cool dude:

  • After I wrote that Philipp Grubauer is having a stinker of a season, Philipp Grubauer did just fine, especially as the Caps turned up the heat in the third. That was his best game of the season, and I hope he turns it into a trend.
  • The Caps played the hell out of Alex Ovechkin (~23 minutes), especially in the third period. I think that was a combination of him being one of a kind, but also what the heck was up with Sprong’s shifts? He played weirdly bad to my eyes all night.
  • He has constitution issues, but Marcus Johansson is such a good player. He looks effortless cutting through neutral.
  • If you, like me, want to follow the Kraken this season, I recommend giving beat writer Marisa Ingemi a follow and a bookmark.
  • I’m starting to dread Caps power plays. Every time the Caps went a man up, they also somehow allowed Seattle at least one shorthanded chance.

Well, that was another rough game by the Caps. But unlike last time, the scoreboard reflected it. At least there are no more late-night games until the end of January.

The road trip now ends, quite successful overall. The Caps just need to focus on getting healthy. Oh and also nuke their power play for orbit.

Headline image: Marisa Ingemi

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