The Washington Capitals are back after a 9-day break and still teetering on the edge of the playoff race. A matchup with the Montreal Canadiens awaited them on Tuesday night as the team prepares to enter a stretch of games where the margin for error is razor-thin.
Nick Suzuki slammed the Canadiens into an early lead after Cole Caufield ripped off Nicolas Aube-Kubel in the neutral zone. Suzuki potted another not long after and Michael Pezzetta extended Montreal’s lead to three before the end of the first.
Alex Ovechkin got on the board for the second straight game after a brilliant feed from Dylan Strome. Juraj Slafkovsky restored the three-goal Montreal lead halfway through the third period, Rasmus Sandin responded almost immediately to cut it back down to two, and Slafkovsky scored again to wrap things up.
Canadiens beat Capitals 5-2.
- That first period sure looked familiar. That was the sort of effort that the Capitals started coming out with after Brian MacLellan started trading away pieces last season. They’ve apparently decided to move that timeline up two weeks this season. A whole cavalcade of suck at five-on-five. Outscored 3-0, outshot 14-3, and out-chanced 8-1.
- Charlie Lindgren lasted just 13:07 of the first period before he got the hook from Spencer Carbery. Lindgren let in three goals on just nine shots against. Can’t say all of that was really on him as the guys in front of him looked to still be thinking of warm weather, beaches, and golf.
- Here’s a quote from Spencer Carbery from before the game about why Mike Sgarbossa over Hendrix Lapierre for the recent recall: “I just think in this situation, letting Lappy continue to play big minutes in a large role in the AHL was the best decision for our team at this point.” That sure seems like a shift in priorities to me. Remember when Dylan McIlrath got a random recall around this time last year? We all know what went down before the deadline shortly after that.
https://t.co/Pb6EhxeCfu pic.twitter.com/ko1oTa98q2
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) February 7, 2024
- Well, the Capitals absolutely dominated the second period. They needed a response to whatever that first period was. At one stage I looked over at the five-on-five shot attempts and they were leading 27-2. They still only scored one goal though, a problem that has plagued them the entire season and doesn’t look like it’s going to go away.
- That one goal was scored by Alex Ovechkin which as we all know automatically makes this a win. The strike, off of a beautiful feed from Dylan Strome, was just Ovi’s third five-on-five goal this season and his 10th overall. He is now 62 markers shy of Wayne Gretzky.
- Going to leave this bullet for Evgeny Kuznetsov. We all hope he and his family are doing well. Really glad he is taking advantage of the league resources and getting some help.
- I was sick almost the entirety of the All-Star break. Did I miss much? Did we like the changes to the format? Was it at least less cringe-inducing? I heard Michael Buble might have been on shrooms. I would watch that.
has anyone ever asked miles wood about his maybe slight obsession with vizsla dogs?? @Avalanche ? pic.twitter.com/Cf0pZh3b33
— jo (@genosbest) February 6, 2024
- Super quiet first half of the third period which is the exact opposite of what they needed. The momentum from the second did not carry over. Rough watch, five-game losing streak.
- Just to mix in a positive, fun note. Ryan Leonard had a really dope assist in Boston College’s recent game. It’s looking likely that he’s going to be a star.
- The Canadiens were supposed to be the easy team that the Capitals play to kick off February. They’ll now play the top four teams in the entire NHL all in a row before taking on the Habs again on February 17.
Finally back with Joe B and Locker #JoeBSuitOfTheNight pic.twitter.com/KSI0switDq
— RMNB (@rmnb) February 6, 2024
The Capitals will now head out on the road for two against the Atlantic Division’s best. The Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins await them.
