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Caps end 2021 with a 3-1 road win over the Red Wings

By Peter Hassett

 4 Comments

December 31, 2021 10:01 pm

The Washington Capitals rung in the new year with a low-key road game against the Detroit Red Wings. At least Ovi made it worthwhile.

Detroit’s Pius Suter converted a power play to put Detroit up early in the second period. Later that same frame, Evgeny Kuznetsov put up a solo effort to tie the game.

Alex Ovechkin put the Caps up with three minutes left in rego and then he secured the empty-netter.

Caps win!

  • Either Detroit is getting better or Washington had an off night. Or both. That first period was pretty brutal for the Caps, struggling to gain the zone with any meaningful puck possession.
  • Even when Washington started controlling play better, they couldn’t muster much quality, which I am gonna say speaks to Detroit’s defensive prowess. But I don’t really know.
  • With Lars Eller out sick (not COVID), Lucas Johansen became the eleventh player to debut for the Capitals this season. With his assist on Kuznetsov’s goal, Johansen became the tenth rookie to record a point (waiting on Alexeyev to get his). Another guy who made his debut and didn’t get a point was the goalie. He had to settle for a shutout. Weird season.

  • The Caps went zero for three power-play opportunities, which means they’ve scored in one of their last 30 opportunities. They’re the third worst PP in the league right now, and they’ve got their bullet. Maybe luck will start favoring them, maybe the better personnel will start paying dividends, maybe they’ll make some changes, or maybe they’ll stay this bad forever.
  • I mean, Alex Ovechkin’s game-winner came right as the power play expired, meaning Ovechkin doesn’t take the all-time record, so maybe hang an asterisk on the 1-for-30. Or maybe it was a PPG, and maybe Ovechkin does have the all-time power-play goal title. Who knows. Everything is negotiable. I don’t even know what year it is.

That puts an end to 2021. It has, um, it has definitely been a year. Challenging. That’s a word for it. I don’t think 2022 will be any less challenging; anyway that’s beyond our control. But maybe what we can control is how we respond, and maybe how we respond can be together.

I can maybe be a bit of a pessimist, but you folks warm my heart. Doing mutual aid, raising money for charity, and just being there for one another when we’re going through it —  that’s what it’s all about.

That and hockey. See you in ’22.

Headline photo: @real_jon_c

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