This is your place to check for updates and comment along with the Washington Capitals vs. Edmonton Oilers game on December 5, 2022.
Welcome to Game 5 of the Capitals’ season-long six-game road trip. Tonight our dear Capitals will take on the Edmonton Oilers where they will now be without Martin Fehervary and Darcy Kuemper who got injured against the Calgary Flames.
The Capitals, who remain under .500 and out of a possible playoff spot, are 1-2-1 on this road trip so far. They’ve given up five goals twice and scored two or fewer goals three times.
It’s unclear if the Capitals are going to be able to turn it around against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisailt. But they need to turn things around soon or they made have dug a hole too deep to get out of.
The Capitals previously played the Oilers at home in early November. They beat Edmonton 5-4, and went four-for-five on the power play.
Tonight’s game is on NBC Sports Washington and puck drop is a little after 8:30.
Milestone alert! Garnet Hathaway is playing in his 400th career game while Dylan Strome is playing in his 300th.
Links
- Something positive
- Capitals recall Hunter Shepard to be the team’s backup
- Fehervary and Kuemper are day-to-day
- Fehervary will miss the next three games at least
- Longterm options to replace Marty if he’s out longterm
- Brian MacLellan says no big trades are coming
- Ivan Miroshnichenko makes KHL debut with Avangard Omsk
- Alexander Suzdalev is tearing up the WHL
- Ryan Chesley named to Team USA’s preliminary 2023 WJC roster
Tunnel shenanigans
Let's go, boys!#ALLCAPS | @CaesarsSports pic.twitter.com/GZirvDQWwM
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 6, 2022
Lines
Lineys#CapsOilers | @JackDaniels_US pic.twitter.com/hHyWTuJKaJ
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 6, 2022
1st Period
The Capitals started Ovechkin-Strome-Sheary and Gustafsson-Carlson. Charlie Lindgren is starting with Kuemper out hurt.
Marcus Johansson is not on the Capitals bench.
The Capitals’ first power play was unbelievable, putting seven shots on Edmonton’s goal. Stuart Skinner met the challenge, stopping them all. Nine minutes into the game, the Caps have a 13-3 shots advantage, but nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.
Marcus Johansson is back on the bench.
Evgeny Kuznetsov takes the Capitals’ first penalty of the night, a tripping penalty in the defensive zone. Capitals kill the penalty.
The Capitals fired TWENTY-TWO shots on goal against the Oilers in the first period but Stuart Skinner stopped them all. At this rate, he’s going to be leading the NHL in Goals Save Above Expected tomorrow. (Natural Stat Trick had the Capitals xGF at 2.07 in the first period.)
The 5v5 shot attempts number was much closer 23-20 Capitals.
2nd Period
The Capitals’ shot on goal number was adjusted from 24 to 22 during the intermission. That tied a season high.
🚨 1-0 Oilers. Brett Kulak scores on a shot from the point at 5v5. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gets the assist. The Oilers are nearly undefeated this season when scoring the first goal. The goal came at the 1:44 mark into the period.
🚨 1-1. Sonny Milano finds Lars Eller wide open in front of the net. Eller dekes and dekes and dekes until getting Stuart to slide out of position for the 5v5 goal. The goal came at the 7:25 mark.
🚨 2-1 Oilers. Connor McDavid picks off an obvious John Carlson pass and scores shorthanded on a breakaway. Lindgren had no chance. The goal came at the 15:25 mark.
🚨 2-2. TJ Oshie ties it up on the power play. Easy peasy. Tic tac toe goal between Kuznetsov, Strome, and Oshie. The goal came at 16:55.
The Capitals are outshooting the Oilers 41-19 and out-attempting them at 5v5, 38-30.
3rd Period
Big third period for the Caps. They are 0-11-3 when they score only two goals in a game.
Protas has a breakaway, then makes a great individual play for another scoring chance in his next shift.
🚨 3-2 Caps. Aliaksei Protas on another breakaway. He sends a backpass instead to a streaking Nic Dowd, and Dowder scores. The goal was at the 7:13 mark.
Protas’s super-human effort in the third period won the Caps the game. His old Billet Family was in attendance..
The Capitals out-shot the Oilers 50-30. At 5v5, the Capitals out-attempted the Oil much more narrowly 53-48. It was a squeaker. It shows you how good the Caps must play to squeak by with a W.
Comment below. Refresh this article throughout the night as we’ll be updating it live.
