The Washington Capitals, in defiance of all decency, played a very late-night game against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night/Tuesday morning. Some of us have work in the morning.
The Kings clobbered the Caps in the first period, but the score remained null. Rasmus Sandin scored his first as a Cap with an improbable double-whiff to score. Deadline pick-up Vladislav Gavrikov returned fire with a clean-up shot, and then Viktor Arvidsson tipped in a go-ahead goal in the second period’s final minute.
In the third, Alex Ovechkin got a one-timer from the Ovi Spot to tie it up, but Mikey Anderson restored LA’s lead with a rush goal. Adrian Kempe got an empty-netter just before the buzzer.
Caps lose 4-2.
- The first period was one of the worst Washington has played all season. Natural Stat Trick says LA generated 2.17 expected goals in that frame, which is what happens when the Caps cannot clear their own zone or gain entry to the opponent’s. Shot attempts were 26 to 5 in that period, and I could just imagine thousands of fans turning the TV off and going to bed as it happened.
- Getting shelled so hard without giving up a couple goals means we have to thank Darcy Kuemper for being flawless in the first period. Even the two he gave up in the second – a danger-close shot from dropped coverage and an unlikely high tip-in – seemed extremely tough. This loss was not on him.
- Rasmus Sandin scored his first goal as a Washington Capital, and boy it sure was whatever that was. Two whiffs and then the puck just sorta wafts into the net?
Rasmus gets his first as a Cap🫡 pic.twitter.com/sXDFOEzBWT
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) March 7, 2023
- And while we’re reviewing the tape, Evgeny Kuznetsov just sorta gave up on the play before Viktor Arvidsson, his man to cover, scored LA’s second goal of the night. I don’t know how Kuznetsov is escaping criticism for this stuff. I don’t see outside of like five dudes on twitter and my group chats.
GAVY'S CALLING 📞📞📞📞 pic.twitter.com/5BkPR2XVsE
— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 7, 2023
- Kuznetsov got high-sticked in the third period but I think the officials found his performance a bit too emphatic to make the call.
- Alex Ovechkin got a ton of looks during a third-period power play before he finally broke through. Sandin sent him an precise cross-ice pass to the Ovi Spot. Sandin got a good bit of power-play time with Toronto, and I can’t help but think that was a factor in bringing him to Washington, where the power play has been poor lately. Ovechkin now has 816 goals and added ex-Caps goalie Pheonix Copley to The List.
- I wrote a bit about Copley’s curious season with the Kings a few months back. He’s competing for a number-one spot, but it doesn’t seem to me like he’s doing anything special out there.
- TJ Oshie laid a mondo hit on Kings defender Sean Durzi in the third period. Durzi had his head down a tad and collided with Oshie’s shoulder. Durzi did not return.
- Peter Laviolette apparently benched new defender Gabriel Carlsson in the third. He did not play the final ten minutes. Carlsson was on for the Anderson goal and seemed to have an extraordinarily hard time getting the puck in the defensive zone. Not my favorite deadline callup.
a late night suit from crypto dot com arena, which it's amazing that's still a thing #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/afWsUlUFBR
— good tweet pete 🌮 (@peterhassett) March 7, 2023
The Caps have been on the road since Sunday, February 26. Since they left DC, the team has changed profoundly. They’ve parted with pieces of the core, depth heroes, and fan favorites. They’ve embarrassed themselves more than once but won more games than a team that has given up would have. They return home as something we haven’t seen in a long time – a distant longshot for the playoffs, trying to find direction late in a lost season.
Devils on Thursday.
Headline photo: @joewillage
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