The Washington Capitals did late, late, late battle with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night. The Capitals were looking to stave off a three-game losing streak against a Kings team looking to extend their winning streak to six games.
Arthur Kaliyev opened the scoring for the Kings but Anthony Mantha would respond in short order for the Capitals. Connor McMichael gave the Capitals their first lead in the game with a late second period, mid-air tally.
Capitals beat Kings 2-1!
- The first period ended 1-1 but the Capitals didn’t really do a whole lot. The Kings run a 1-3-1 trap system which was made famous by the Tampa Bay Lightning like a decade ago and is incredibly boring. But, it’s also effective when you’re a team as good as the Kings.
- Anthony Mantha scored his fourth goal of the season and is now tied for third on the team in goal scoring. Really liked Connor McMichael’s jump to create that goal. It’s so nice to see him be a consistent difference maker.
- Seth Rogen dropped a puck for a ceremonial faceoff of sorts pregame and did so in a Kings jersey. That is straight up betrayal of his hometown Vancouver Canucks. Might even be a capital offense in Canada. I wouldn’t blame them.
Get rekt, Kissinger, you will never get to know who wins the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament.
— Norm Charlatan (@normcharlatan) November 30, 2023
- That second period was one of the more encouraging frames of the whole season for me. The Capitals didn’t get a whole lot of volume on Cam Talbot but they strung a lot of good shifts together and eventually their work paid off in the final minutes. The Kings are an incredibly good, incredibly well-built team. Going toe-to-toe with them in their building like that is not easy. Really great stuff.
- Connor McMichael now has five goals on the year which ties him with Alex Ovechkin for second on the team. He now also has 10 points which is good for a tie with Dylan Strome for third on the team. Would love to see that trio of his with Mantha and Aliaksei Protas get a good run of games together. They combine super well with the size and reach of the two wingers going along with McMichael’s speed and hands.
- Speaking of McMichael, does anyone else think the Capitals should get Hendrix Lapierre down to Hershey ASAP so the Bears can just do the exact same thing they did with McMichael to Lapierre this season? Because it damn sure worked and Lapierre was off to a good start in the AHL before his recall. Sitting in the NHL press box is probably not beneficial for him right now.
- What cities did everyone get for their Spotify Wrapped? I got Pittsburgh which is kinda disgusting.
#ALLCAPS Strome notices a fan pic.twitter.com/5QNiwSnpeM
— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) November 30, 2023
- The Capitals battened down the hatches pretty excellently in the final period. The Kings had a whole ton of quantity but not a lot of quality. In a perfect world you want to stay on the front foot but this Capitals team isn’t exactly capable of that. So, that will do.
- First successful coach’s challenge of the season! Woo-hoo. Although it should have been the second because that goaltender interference one they lost against Columbus was such a joke.
- Pretty fantastic start from Charlie Lindgren again. He is moving around in his crease like a prime Henrik Lundqvist this season.
It's another late one with these guys #JoeBSuitOfTheNight pic.twitter.com/hkJz26YqaR
— RMNB (@rmnb) November 30, 2023
The Capitals will have one more in California against the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow night. They’ll then head to Vegas for their first game in the month of December on Saturday.
Headline photo via @UnleashTheHeshy/X
