The Washington Capitals’ first game of 2022 was mostly a stinker. Hosting the New Jersey Devils for an afternooner, most of the Caps didn’t really seem prepared for this one. But that’s not the whole story.
The Devils scored two goals in 75 seconds, one a rebound from Sharangovich, the other a brilliant cross-ice pass to Severson. John Carlson took a drop pass to make it 2-1 at the end of the first period, but Nico Hischier’s deflection early in the second period but the Caps back in their two-goal hole.
With just under seven minutes in regulation, Nic Dowd teamed up with Hathaway and Hagelin to bring the Caps within striking distance. Then Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood made a misplay that allowed Lars Eller to set up an alley oop for Conor Sheary, tying the game at three after regulation.
The Devils won it in overtime. Caps lose.
- For the bazillionth time, the Caps had some last-minute roster shuffling. Nick Backstrom and TJ Oshie missed the game with non-COVID illness, and Protas was sent down to Hershey.
blame chris pic.twitter.com/0kpp70FDb8
— RMNB (@russianmachine) January 2, 2022
- So this was a tough game already, but Chris predicted it early. The Devils just didn’t let much action get past their blue line.
- So thank goodness for this flub.
Yikes, Blackwood gives the puck away and focuses on the shooter. Royal road pass to Sheary who has an empty net. Tie game #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/OmYQOxXjpN
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) January 2, 2022
- Dougie Hamilton took a puck to the face and left in the first period, never to return. So the Devils did most of their work shorthanded.
- To the surprise of no one, Washington’s best line was Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway. They had one really good chance that Hagelin couldn’t finish. No punchline. Just gonna let that sit there in front of you. Then Nic Dowd did next-level handling to beat Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood with a rush attempt in the third period.
- Connor McMichael rarely gets more than 10 minutes a night, so this was a quiet game even for him: 6:03. This doesn’t feel like good player development to me right now.
- Was there a change in mask policy for coaches behind the bench? Alain Nasreddine was wearing one behind the Devils, but the Caps staff wasn’t. I’m just curious, since we’re going vertical right now.
- The Caps? Still bad in OT!
kicking off a new year of @JoeBpXp suits #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/T73JvZgSpx
— good tweet pete 🌮 (@peterhassett) January 2, 2022
Okay, so that was mostly a stinker. It’s just that one good line and one goalie goof-up from the goalie delivered the Caps into overtime.
But the important thing is that it’s going to snow tonight. Enjoy your imminent snow day. Not a bust. No conversational dusting. Real snow. Take it to the bank. The snow bank, senator trent.
Headline photo: @Jencapsfan74
