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Took them longer than desired but job done against league’s worst: Capitals beat Sharks 3-1

By Chris Cerullo

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October 29, 2023 7:36 pm

The NHL’s bottom-dwelling San Jose Sharks were in town to take on the Washington Capitals who entered play with two wins in a row. The Sharks and their 0-7-1 record should have been easy prey for the Capitals but they’re called Sharks for a reason and wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Luke Kunin opened the scoring on a stuff attempt that squeaked by Darcy Kuemper. Dylan Strome fired from deep and the hot hand found his sixth of the season to tie the game. Tom Wilson ricocheted home the game-winning goal late in the third.

Evgeny Kuznetsov iced things with an empty net goal.

Capitals beat Sharks 3-1!

  • The Capitals waited until the Sharks were already up 1-0 to wake up in the first period. The back half of the period was good and without constant heroics from MacKenzie Blackwood in the San Jose net, I thought the good guys should have been up a goal or two after twenty minutes. Still have to start better than that though against what is basically a high-level AHL team.
  • Will TJ Oshie ever score again? He another handful of high-danger scoring opportunities in this game and just could not find a hole in Blackwood’s armor. Oshie is the player with the most individual expected goals in the NHL this season yet to actually score a goal.
  • I want to see more of Hardy Haman Aktell. I think he’s been the clear best of the young trio of defensemen that Spencer Carbery has been rotating in and out of the third pair. Another very steady outing in his second career NHL game and he grabbed his first career point on Strome’s goal.

  • The second period was listless at five-on-five and the Capitals couldn’t convert on their power play chances. Yes, Blackwood was good again but the Capitals also made it far too easy for him. Their woes in second frames are baffling.
  • Darcy Kuemper was great again. Dude is in some sort of dominant zen mode right now.
  • If I’m being completely honest, the Capitals feel like a jigsaw puzzle made up of groups of players from three different eras of the club. And, in this metaphor, like half of the puzzle pieces are actually from five different, other puzzles. I do not envy Spencer Carbery trying to come up with lines and defensive pairings.
  • Bit of an injury scare from Martin Fehervary as he took some high incidental contact from Tomas Hertl coming across the San Jose blueline. Fehervary went down the tunnel but would come back before the end of the period. Any play where a player is low to the ice and gets hit up high by any part of a defending skater feels absolutely terrifying to watch at the moment.

  • Great push from the Capitals late to secure the two points. Shouldn’t have taken a late push but alas. A win is a win.
  • Dylan Strome might be the best overall player on the Capitals. He sure is at least to start this season. Stromer netted his sixth goal of the season to get the Capitals back into the game in the third period.
  • Hendrix Lapierre got his first NHL sweater for the first time in almost two years. Can’t say he was very noticeable. His line got caved in shot attempts wise and he rarely had the chance to see the offensive zone. He did get reacquainted with TJ Oshie pregame though.

The Capitals are done in the month of October but not done on their homestand just yet. They’ll next host the New York Islanders on November 2.

Headline photo: @curtk/X

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