Tuesday’s game between the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings was supposed to be a pivotal moment in the teams’ duel for the second wild-card spot. Instead, they decided to pushing the pivot back a bit.
Nic Dowd scored a beaut in the second period, but Alex DeBrincat responded by crashing the net. Late in the middle frame, David Perron finished a rapid barrage of shots on poor Charlie Lindgren.
Early in the third, Connor McMichael tied the game with a sneaky tuck-in. Dylan Strome scored on a rebound after an offensive-zone faceoff to give the home team the lead. With five minutes left in regulation, the Caps failed to clear the zone and Patrick Kane tied it, forcing overtime.
Dylan Strome won it in OT.
Caps win!
- Detroit scratched Daniel Sprong. That’s messed up. I bought an entire website for this night. danielspro.ng
- It was a mixed effort from the Caps. It took them eleven minutes to force Wings goalie Alex Lyon to make a save. Their play late in the first was excellent though, but then it evaporated in a lacking second period. And a failed zone exit handed that big tying goal to Patrick Kane (of all people). So I guess a lot of fodder for the video coaches.
- Every time we talk about uneven effort, I suppose we’re implicitly saying “that poor goalie.” Tonight Charlie Lindgren was that poor goalie. He had to do way too much, especially early, but also when the Wings were buzzing late in the second period. He made three saves in the instant before the Perron goal. You could ask for more, but you really shouldn’t.
- Nic Dowd did everything on that first goal. He kept the play alive in the offensive zone, found Jensen on the other side of the ice and sent him the puck, then got in the high slot to take a nifty shot. Lyon had to move laterally a lot on that play, and that’s the best way to beat a goalie.
- I’ve liked almost everything out of Ivan Miroshnichenko, so let’s all appreciate this hardy hit.
Ivan Miroshnichenko just sent Simon Edvinsson for a ride 😳#AllCaps pic.twitter.com/N3aIXwzotv
— Ethan Cadeaux (@Ethan_Cadeaux) March 26, 2024
- I suppose this is the sort of thing I’m going to have to make a spreadsheet about, but for now it feels like the Caps are scoring on set plays after faceoffs more often lately. Strome’s first goal was just such a thing. Strome’s now at 25 goals on the season.
- Top-six center Connor McMichael has three goals and two assists in his last five games. He has arrived. I think he will hit 20 goals.
- I could not keep up with the Grace Ocean out-of-town scoreboard during the game. Seems like the NYR-Flyers game was bananas. Tell me about it below.
- There was Some Discourse on “Hockey X” (no one calls it this) about Zach Hyman and the role of hard work in his 50-goal season. No one anywhere at any time suggested that Hyman did not work hard to reach 50 goals, but some people did explore the other factors that have made him so successful (e.g. good teammates, rich dad). It’s good to work hard, and lots of successful people work hard, but we should also remember that there are literally billions of people who work very hard but who are not successful. You need more than hard work is the point, albeit a minor point.
- Alex Ovechkin did not score, ending a five-game goal streak.
Need to play as loud as Joe's outfit #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/lgkTX53DRy
— RMNB (@rmnb) March 26, 2024
Well, that was the big game. Washington had an imperfect outing, but it was enough to earn two points, even if their challenger got one as well. It’s like the Red Wings were below the Caps on a ladder, trying to climb up past them, but the Caps stamped on their face and their hands, and then they fell down just a couple rungs I don’t know why we needed that metaphor, but we did. Oh well, we’ll see the Wings again on April 9.
So ends a long and quite successful home stand. The team heads next to Toronto, as they set their sights on a new target: third place in the Metro.
