The Capitals were in Sin City on Saturday night to take on the Golden Knights in an arena that sparks fond memories for all Caps fans. No Stanley Cup on the line this time but still an important two standings points.
Alec Martinez got Vegas on the board very early with his first goal of the season. Nicolas Roy converted on a two-on-one chance soon after to double the home team’s lead. Michael Amadio, Byron Froese, and Paul Cotter all added to that in the second.
TJ Oshie ruined Logan Thompson’s shutout bid. Cotter with another. Marcus Johansson redirect.
Golden Knights beat Capitals 6-2.
- I didn’t like a single thing about the first period. There isn’t really a way they could have played a worse 20 minutes. The sheer amount of sloppiness that led to constant odd-man rushes for Vegas was appalling to watch. Yeesh.
- We got a look at an Alex Ovechkin-less power play as the Caps captain missed his first game of the season with a lower-body injury. I thought the setup was absolutely terrible. For some reason, the team’s best netfront guy TJ Oshie was moved to fill Ovi’s role which is about as far away from the net as you can get as a forward on the Caps’ power play. He also doesn’t exactly have the sort of shot that I would choose for that spot. So weird.
- Anthony Mantha took a very lazy, offensive zone tripping penalty with his team already down 2-0 after sitting out as a healthy scratch four times in the last six games. I’ve said before that the amount of reach in his game is infuriating to me. He never moves his feet. I’m normally the big “numbers for the morning after” guy so I know analytically he looks great but I’m very tired of watching him this season. He’s going to be moved on trade-wise for another option soon, right?
Only in Vegas. pic.twitter.com/fZ6XOSrrlH
— Ted Starkey (@TedStarkey) January 22, 2023
- If you go and just reread my first bullet about the first period you will also have your summary of the second period. Just absolutely brutal hockey from the Caps. Really just helping stoke some Ovi for Hart Trophy arguments.
- TJ Oshie at least broke Logan Thompson’s shutout bid. It was Oshie’s tenth goal of the season and he has now joined Ovechkin, Dylan Strome, Conor Sheary, Marcus Johansson, and Nic Dowd in the double-digit goal club.
- Not a fun outing for Darcy Kuemper after he shut out the Coyotes on Thursday. He was pulled in favor of Charlie Lindgren after allowing four goals on 18 shots. He had absolutely zero help in front of him.
- Pretty rough night from one of my guys in Alex Alexeyev. He really could not get the puck to calm down for him and it turned into a whole slew of turnovers. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Matt Irwin in the next game. However, not a single Caps defender was good in this game.
— Jen (@NHLhistorygirl) January 22, 2023
- If you were a Caps player that successfully passed the puck to a teammate in this game…you were in the minority on your team. Good lord was this one of the worst games I have seen this team play in a long time. Just sheer incompetence everywhere.
- Marcus Johansson also got on the board. He is now alone in second on the team in goals with 12.
- Five in a row for Vegas against the Caps in the regular season.
Super late-night hockey from a building that has been very kind to the Caps in the past #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/QRJzEp8rEy
— RMNB (@rmnb) January 22, 2023
The Caps will stay out west for one more against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. Let us all hope that Alex Ovechkin is back in the lineup for that one.
Headline photo courtesy of @trevorlinton21/Twitter
