The Washington Capitals fell to the Boston Bruins 3-2 in a shootout after having four minutes of power play time in overtime. Tough pill to swallow.
But, the loser’s point moved them into third in the Metropolitan Division. Yay.
- The Capitals probably deserved two points from this game. They really seem to play the Bruins well as they out-chanced Boston 38 to 24 at all strengths. Some of that early season poor finishing was definitely present and Jeremy Swayman is also just a very good goaltender. I think if that Connor McMichael shot in the first minute doesn’t get swept off the goal line, this is a win for Washington.
- John Carlson played in his 1,000th NHL game and scored his eighth goal of the season on his big night. With the tally, he tied Kevin Hatcher (149g) for the most goals by a defenseman in franchise history. Katie wrote a good piece on his night overall. Go and read it if you have a few minutes!
- I’m a little bit puzzled by some of the five-on-five, ice-time decisions. Ivan Miroshnichenko has been nothing but excellent for the Capitals lately yet skated just 9:13 in the loss. I’m not sure if Spencer Carbery wants to start cutting down his bench late in games that Miro should be the one suffering. If anything his usage should go up if you need a goal. I also want to see more of him on the power play.
Nick Jensen recorded the primary assist on Sgarbossa's goal, extending his assist streak to three games. Jensen's current three-game assist streak is tied for the longest of his career (12/20/18-12/23/18: 3a is in 3 GP).
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) March 31, 2024
- Vinny Iorio didn’t play a ton (9:12) but also made zero errors that I can remember. Just a very solid effort in relief of the injured Rasmus Sandin. The Capitals scored a goal with him on the ice and didn’t give up a single high-danger chance against.
- I thought Alex Alexeyev did a really nice job in his somewhat increased role although I think he should have played more than the 15:04 of ice time he received. Carbery said postgame that he was unhappy with his defense’s offensive blueline play and I think simply giving Alexeyev more minutes could have helped that. He has that Dmitry Orlov-type swagger with the puck on his stick sometimes and even since his junior days, he’s always been a player who seems to up his level when he gets more of a leash from the coaching staff. At five-on-five with him on the ice, the Capitals held positive differentials in scoring chances (+4) and high-danger chances (+2).
- The Capitals are third in the Metropolitan Division for the first time since December 10. Everyone laugh at the Flyers.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.
