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Caps beat Wild 3-2 after a looooong shootout

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The Washington Capitals dueled with Minnesota Wild in a well contested game on a lovely autumn night. Not a bad way to kick off peak-foliage weekend.

Washington once again surrendered the first goal of the game, letting Marco Rossi convert on a semi-breakaway. Tom Wilson got a shorthanded goal with help from Connor McMichael, and then world-famous goal-scorer Dylan Strome beat Marc Andre Fleury from the backdoor to make it 2-1 after two periods.

Martin Fehervary’s mega-whiff at the blue line allowed Ryan Hartman to score an unassisted goal early in the third to tie it up. The Caps pushed hard at the end, but regulation left us without a winner. Overtime had a goal called off, so no decision there either. So you know what comes next: shootout bullets!

  • Kuznetsov did NOT put the biscuit in the basket. Locker said he touched the puck 30 times.
  • Zuccarello did NOT put the biscuit in the basket.
  • Oshie did NOT put the biscuit in the basket.
  • Kaprizov did NOT put the biscuit in the basket.
  • Backstrom did NOT put the biscuit in the basket.
  • Eriksson Ek did NOT put the biscuit in the basket. Huge save by Kuemper there.
  • Strome did NOT put the biscuit in the basket.
  • Hartman did NOT put the biscuit in the basket. Off the far post.
  • Ovechkin did NOT put the biscuit in the basket.
  • Johansson did NOT put the biscuit in the basket. Wow this is going long.
  • Milano did NOT put the biscuit in the basket.
  • Rossi did NOT put the biscuit in the basket.
  • Carlson put the biscuit in the basket! Roofed it. Simple.
  • Maron did NOT put the biscuit in the basket.

Caps win 3-2 in the shootout!

  • The Caps have surrendered the first goal in all games they’ve played but one. I think that’s a byproduct of just not scoring much overall. They were ranked 31st in goals per game before tonight. I think that’s the problem — not that they have some kind of psychological affliction that prevents them from scoring first.
  • Marcus Johansson returned to DC. He sent a sharp pass to Marcus Foligno who bump-passed to Rossi for the first goal. Always love Marcus.

  • Speaking of Marco Rossi. He was nuts out there. My impression of him before tonight was that he’s nothing special, but he’s on a three-game point streak and made a big impact early on.
  • I thought the Caps played very well. This was an evenly matched game, though I’m not sure how much of a test the Wild are. Chris will break it down tomorrow morning, but I think – until the third period – Tom Wilson’s shorthanded goal was the difference-maker. The Caps positively dominated the third period.
  • Connor McMichael made that Wilson goal happen with a well-timed and executed saucer pass on the rush. I like what we’ve been getting out of ol’ CMcM so far. If he can finish reliably, people are going to say he’s got jokes.

  • Evgeny Kuznetsov had two minor penalties, which caught him up with Tom Wilson for the team lead – until Wilson one-upped him in the third. Kuznetsov has been an unstable force this season, with variable give-a-shit levels, and tonight was a bad one until he seemed motivated to score late in the game (lacrosse goal attempt!). Earlier, his float might have been what caused Fehervary to lose the puck before the Hartman goal. What do you think?

  • Alex Ovechkin had a goal disallowed in the second period for an offside zone-entry way before the would-be goal happened. Strong game from Ovi – I counted three times he “should of” scored if not for bad luck. When he wasn’t shooting, he was making some smart passes. I’d be okay seeing him play with Strome and Wilson again.
  • Huge goal by Dylan Strome, his third in the last two games. Outside shot of an NHL star of the week? Tyler Toffoli has the first spot locked I’m sure.
  • I’m not going to say much about the Sonny Milano almost-goal because it was definitely played with a high stick. Would have been bananas if he pulled it off and if it were legal though.
  • I see now how the Capitals power play is different from last season. The formulation is the same, the same guys in the same positions, but they’re way less static. Ovechkin goes lower and passes more. I just wish he would get some clean passes to the Ovi Spot.

The Caps have a day off, so get ready for some iffy Halloween costume choices from them. Then it’s time to host the cursed Sharks for a Sunday game. If you have tickets, I think you have a good chance of seeing an Ovi goal.

Headline photo: @StrwberryMom

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