The tired Washington Capitals hosted the very rested Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night. It was a low-event affair where the goalies were the difference.
Alex Ovechkin set up Marty Fehervary for a gorgeous shot to get us going. Jared Spurgeon scored 50 seconds into the second period thanks to a great screen by Jordan Greenway. Ovechkin got his second assist of the night, serving Dylan Strome a shot to tip. Jonas Brodin scored thanks to a great screen by Ryan Reaves. Jared Spurgeon scored again thanks to a great screen by Brandon Duhaime. Did I mention the great screens? Anyway, the Caps were down 3-2 after two periods.
The Capitals had a lot of offense in the third period, but couldn’t quite beat Filip Gustavsson. Joel Eriksson Ek got the empty-netter.
Caps lose.
The defensive matchup tonight, per @HockeyViz pic.twitter.com/S5YqjeWOkR
— RMNB (@rmnb) January 18, 2023
- Believe it or not, Washington is a good defensive team – and Minnesota is a superb defensive team, meaning tonight’s low-event dirge wasn’t much of a surprise. Washington controlled play wonderfully for long stretches, though Minnesota taking over the puck late in the second was decisive.
- The first shot of the game didn’t come until 5:15 in, by Jared Spurgeon, who went on to score two goals.
- The low volume was a problem for Charlie Lindgren‘s save percentage. When the Wild did shoot, they sure put some bodies in Lindgren’s sightlines. One time they even managed to pose Trevor van Riemsdyk there as well. When Sam Steel had a breakaway in the third, Lindgren saw him just fine and made the stop.
- Anthony Mantha did not fight last game and therefore was the healthy scratch tonight – even with Nic Dowd out due to injury. Nicolas Aube-Kubel slotted in where no one expected him: the top line. Knowing the stakes for a sometimes-scratch, NAK did what Mantha did not: fight a dude.
- Checking in with our fresh-faced boys: Tom Wilson took an Orlov slapshot to the ribs. After a good night on Long Island, his line with Nicklas Backstrom tonight was god-awful. Let’s see what Chris has to say about them tomorrow morning. They were on-ice for two Minnesota goals. Here’s my take on their viability right now: 🤐
- Not an excuse, but the Caps played last night. The Wild’s previous game was three days ago.
- A bullet on Pride Night: I loved assistant coach Scott Allen rocking a pride tie and pin. I loved the art from Dave. I love the crowd. Sorry to agitate, but it’s time for the team to wear a Pride jersey in warmups.
WIth the main stream not working, I had to use illegal pirate naughtiness to get the #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/6tBthSotqD
— Peter Hassett (@peterhassett) January 18, 2023
Decent game, even if it were a little low-key. Washington played well, just didn’t get the breaks.
I caught some heat last recap for quoting Martin Luther King on MLK Day. Tonight, on Pride Night, I’ll keep going by politely and respectfully disagreeing with my friends who say acknowledgement and respect for LGBTQIA+ folks is apolitical. I’ll say it should be apolitical, but that could only be the case if there weren’t an organized, ideologically coherent faction trying to keep LGBTQIA+ folks out of public and away from the resources of the state. As long as those people hold onto their bigotry and wield power based on it, then nights like tonight must be political. The struggle continues.
Anyway, onto Mullett Arena on Thursday!
Headline photo: Kurly from the Discord
