The Washington Capitals lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night in a hilarious game. I insist: it was hilarious. It wasn’t agonizing to watch at all. Actually I liked it. I liked watching this game. I had a good time. I had a good time. A good time.
So the Leafs scored the first four goals. Rielly roofed it. Tavares got a tip-in. Nylander caught a stretch pass. Matthews had a one-timer. It was a lot. But then Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season, a deflection at the goal mouth.
That was all the goals. Caps lose 4-1.
- Nicklas Backstrom put the puck in net first, but the goal was called back for goalie interference. Ovechkin really crashed the net hard there. Actually let’s talk about Ovi a lot now.
#ALLCAPS 1-0. BACKSTROM SCOREEE. Leafs challenge, but i think it'll stand (nvm, for some reason it did not) pic.twitter.com/5SVdir3Vvl
— x – Capitals Replays 🍁 (@capsreplays) October 24, 2023
- Alex Ovechkin famously went two games in a row without a shot for the first time in his career, and I bet he was furious over it. On Tuesday he had seven shots in JUST THE FIRST PERIOD. He finished with 14.
- He also got a penalty shot, the 13th of his career, which is an NHL record tied with Vinny Lecavalier. He didn’t convert, but that’s just one more thing on Ovi’s ever-growing list of records.
Woll stops him pic.twitter.com/bvEYGduh37
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 24, 2023
- Before Ovechkin finally scored his 823rd, he had generated about 0.9 expected goals in this game. For comparison, he had generated 1.2 expected goals in his first four games combined. I think that’s emphatic evidence that, boy was he horney for this one.
- Ovechkin got most of his shots during the power play, but the team also controlled play during five-on-five pretty well. Spencer Carbery switched up his lines early, but the McMichael – Kuznetsov – Oshie trio looked particularly dangerous in the offensive zone.
- In case you were wondering, yes, Toronto goalie Jacob Woll has been added to the list.
- The ESPN broadcast made some comment about how the Leafs took over the game in the second period. On the scoreboard they did, for sure, without a doubt, no question, not even close. But the Caps might have controlled play better, and they were creating chances with their zone time. The analyst said the Leafs were “having their way with” the Capitals, which, okay, we should start using a different phrase, but also I think that description flattens all the stupid dynamics that made this game so weird.
- Okay, that’s a lot of bullets without talking about what went wrong, and there’s only two things to blame here. One is dumb luck. The puck just didn’t go in. Backstrom’s wasn’t legal, Phillips got stymied several times, Kuznetsov had a couple scoring chances, and Ovechkin got a ton of looks from up-close before he finally converted on the power play. The goals are going to come. But in the meantime…
- Darcy Kuemper had a terrible night. He allowed three goals on the first eight shots he faced, so this game was practically unwinnable from the drop. Whatever good omens you found in this game – and I found a ton! – the game itself was trash because Kuemper got rekt.
- The Caps still have not led any game at any point.
No Joe B suit. Here’s a classic and appropriate meme.
Also pic.twitter.com/Mro8hE24wY
— 🩵 Corinne (Taylor’s Version) 🩵 (@corinne_jess) October 24, 2023
Awful game. Miserable. A continuation of the pitiful puck luck that has made the start of this season so tough. But Ovi got on the board, and the Capitals played with pace, and they had the puck more, and they did it against their toughest opponent yet. I know that doesn’t show up in the standings, and ultimately this is a big loss, but I saw some good in it, and I hope you can too.
Headline photo: Kurly from Crashers
