The Washington Capitals bested the Philadelphia Flyers in a pitched intra-divisional matchup that was supposed to have major playoff implications – assuming you haven’t been paying attention.
The first period belonged to the Flyers. Bobby Brink scored after Charlie Lindgren stopped a breakaway chance, then Owen Tippett made it 2-0 with a power-play shot from the face-off circle.
The Caps did them one better in the second period, starting with Alex Ovechkin’s 839th, then a skill goal from Sonny Milano, and a wraparound from John Carlson.
In the third, Anthony Mantha put the Capitals in a commanding two-goal lead with a crisp one-timer set up by Dylan Strome. Strome himself put the punctuation in place to make it 5-2, our final score.
Caps win!
After that miserable last game, no way I’m missing the opportunity to embed Bailamos tonight.
- People in the media and normal people in the arena were telling us there as a playoff atmosphere to this game. I’ll rant about part of that in a moment, but the atmosphere was variable. The first period was dead, with the Caps giving Philly two power plays and playing without the puck a lot. Then the second period happened, and everything was right in the world again. Once Dylan Strome made it 5-2, this game was a celebration.
- Alex Ovechkin‘s goal was a set piece after Hendrix Lapierre won an offensive-zone face-off and got it to Tom Wilson. Samuel Ersson becomes the 173rd goalie to allow Ovechkin past him. Ovi’s now at 17 on the season, way behind where we want him but way ahead of where he was one month ago.
- Sonny Milano has unbelievable hands. Just getting a stick on this puck is impressive, but getting it lifted sharply for a goal – I just love the skills on this guy. He’s like Oshie with worse hair. Or better hair? Hair of exactly equal merit and aesthetic differences only.
Obligatory It's Always Sonny in Philadelphia reference pic.twitter.com/iy0JveEyPB
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 2, 2024
- Charlie Lindgren made a monster save on Morgan Frost, but the rebound was just sitting there for Bobby Brink on that opening goal. So does the excellent save on an extremely dangerous chance get tempered by the easy goal it allowed right after? I don’t know. I’m asking you.
- Garnet Hathaway and Tom Wilson fought. Well, they fought by any human standard, but I guess referees are inhuman. They ruled it “roughing” because the fight occurred before play started and therefore would have required a misconduct call if it were ruled a fight. So it’s like they did Wilson and Hathaway a favor, but also they made murky your preseason prediction that Hathaway would not fight a Cap. 59 percent of you are now wrong. Or are you? We need armies of lawyers to settle this.
- Anthony Mantha‘s next goal will be his 20th. He still gets a frustratingly low number of power-play minutes, but he made the most of them tonight. I’ve been a Mantha believer for a long time, and I’m ready to stop sometime next week.
Conservative suit but also is anyone else bothered that they're on opposite sides? #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/rbAqJ1SA2x
— RMNB (@rmnb) March 1, 2024
A great game after a slow start. I was stung by the Detroit loss, so this victory was a salve. What it means beyond a W on the schedule is another matter.
I am sick of hearing how some upcoming game is the game that will determine Washington’s playoff status or their posture at the trade deadline. We’re sincerely a month into this delusion. The Caps missed the playoffs when they went 1-4-1 in the two weeks after Christmas and then had that 2-6-2 run in mid-January. This “big division game” shifted Washington from 15 percent to 20 percent, according to HockeyViz. If the Caps front office thinks they’re still in the chase, they’re being silly gooses.
I’m not saying don’t feel good about this game. I’m enthusiastically saying feel good about this game. This was a good game! But it better not make this club lose touch with reality.
See you Sunday for a, um, guaranteed win in a matinee against the Coyotes.
