The Capitals celebrated Happy Honda Days at the Honda Center with a late night-game hosted by the Anaheim Ducks. It was a veritable Toyotathon of goals in the first period, and then the Caps got meek for some reason, but Tom Wilson toughed it out.
It was an eventful first period. Anthony Mantha, white hot, scored again on an unassisted hero play. Scant seconds later, Tristan Luneau scored his first NHL goal, for which he should thank some weak Caps defense in the low slot. Ex-Cap Brett Leason caught a rebound after Leo Carlsson’s brilliant drive to give the Ducks the lead, but the Caps responded thrice: Wilson once on a breakaway, Wilson again on a power-play rebound, and lastly Dowd deflecting Sandin’s point shot.
After a scoreless second period, the Ducks drew within one goal on Brock McGinn’s tricky shot. And then Tom Wilson completed his first career hat trick to secure the win. A last-minute net-crash by Frank Vatrano made it tight late, but the Caps held on.
Caps win!
- One full Ford Truck Month, 12 games, 60 minutes of ice time later, the Washington Capitals scored a power-play goal. It was an Ovi Shot from the Ovi Spot, stopped by Gibson, then cleaned up by Wilson in the right position. That’s the ideal way for the power-play to be working, so I want to pretend like every problem has been solved and it’s all cruise control from here on out.
#ALLCAPS 3-2. WILSON GETS US THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/JDJeXFGGaa
— x – Capitals Replays 🍁 (@capsreplays) December 1, 2023
- The extended power play in the third, containing two minutes of five-on-three play, did not seem to align with my pretense, but Wilson’s second PPG was a gritty sequel to his first.
- Tom Wilson played in his 700th game, and boy did he. Two minor penalties in the first period alone, bringing him to 14 – one behind the league leader, Colorado’s Bowen Byram. Were I coach, I’d have benched him, which would have been foolish as he scored two goals later that same period – a finesse-y one-on-one and a hard-earned rebound from the paint. His goal in the third period – another scramble in the power-play paint – earned him the first hat trick of his NHL career.
- And yet, the next best player on the ice, once again: Connor McMichael. No one saw it coming.
- His linemate, Anthony Mantha, has three points in the last two games. That line is cooking.
- Were I coach, I’d have split Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin permanently. If they were my students in fifth grade, I’d put their desks on opposite sides of the classroom, and I’d make sure there were several girls who draw horses all day blocking their eyeline. Once again they got clobbered. They played without the puck and committed four penalties (one on PP) consequently. Their zone time was endless cycling without generating chances, ending quickly when Kuznetsov loses possession along the blue line. They gave up two goals during five-on-five; just one of Wilson’s came during five-on-five. In five of the last six games, they controlled under 40 percent of the on-ice shot attempts. They are sincerely one of the worst lines in the NHL. I’m so deranged about Kuznetsov. He’s really Sign Then Drive-ing me crazy. I know it’s unlikely, but I wish there were some kind of Chevy Red Tag Sales Event for enigmatic Russian centers.
- Sonny Milano had a light night with four shifts through two periods. He was one of the beclowned Caps on the Leason goal, though it seemed like he wasn’t getting much ice before that either. And were I the coach – and yes this is the third time I’m speaking like this in this recap – Milano wouldn’t have been in my top three players I’d have benched.
- Really feels like the Caps took their foot off the gas after nabbing that two-goal lead in the first period. You don’t like to see that.
Another late night. Let's party #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/8zhWtDEf1i
— RMNB (@rmnb) December 1, 2023
An important man passed away yesterday, and it seems wrong for me not to discuss it here. I speak, as you all guessed, about The Pogue’s Shane MacGowan. He was a beautiful man who believed hard and lived hard and sang hard. He was a wonderful writer; here’s a sweet bit from “Lullaby of London“:
May the ghosts that howled
Round the house at night
Never keep you from your sleep
May they all sleep tight
Down in hell tonight
Or where ever they may be
Ah.
Our Washington Capitals still have two more games on this west coast road trip – Vegas (yikes) and Arizona (oh okay, winnable) before they return home to the frigid east for some Mercedes Winter Events on home ice. Let’s hope the Caps can make it a December to Remember.
p.s. if you’re reading this and you decide what the Caps lines are, please split up Ovi and Kuzy, thanks bb
Headline photo: @UnleashTheHeshy
