The Washington Capitals put down the turkey sammies to welcome the New York Islanders to town for a game purportedly in the afternoon but the dang sun went down during the second period.
The Caps allowed Simon Holmstrom to strike first, using Sandin as a screen to beat Thompson up top. Nic Dowd restored the tie after a great pass from Ivan Miroshnichenko. Tom Wilson put the Caps up with a textbook tic-tac-toe goal during the power play, and it was 2-1 good guys after twenty minutes.
The second period was sleepy but bad like a colonoscopy with not enough anesthesia. The Isles struck three times: Anders Lee got a superhuman tip up front, then Kyle MacLean took advantage of Aliaksei Protas’s failed clear, then Simon Holmstrom tapped in his second of the afternoon.
On a power play early in the third, Dylan Strome brought the Capitals back within one goal. They looked focused after that, extending a heavy shift in the offensive zone until Trevor van Riemsdyk teamed up with Tom Wilson to tie it 4-4. That was our score as regulation ended.
Jakob Chychrun won it in overtime with a great shot from the slot.
Caps win!
- Surreal that a game with such a stifling second period had so much to talk about.
- Multiple times in the last month I had to be reminded that Dennis Cholowski used to play for the Capitals. Every time I’m told that it slips from my mind immediately after.
- John Carlson had his third goal nullified this season – this time as Hendrix Lapierre interfered with Isles goalie Semyon Varlamov. And by “interfered with,” I mean Varly pushed himself into Lapierre.
- Assistant coach Scott Allen called the second Washington’s “worst period of the year.” I don’t have a quick mental reference of every period, but I believe him. Three goals against, all down low, and very little of Washington’s own offense to counter it. I had already been having a hard time staying awake.
- But once they, like me, awoke, it was a blast. This whole sequence before Tom Wilson‘s second goal was thrilling.
Two-goal Tommy stays clutch pic.twitter.com/UGINedpOt7
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 29, 2024
- With three goals in his last two games, Wilson is making the case for himself as the fabled guy-who-steps-up-when-Ovi-is-out.
same species
— Peter Hassett (@peterhassett.net) 2024-11-29T21:10:13.928Z
- D-men Rasmus Sandin and Matt Roy were two among the team’s many strugglers. Roy got particularly clowned by MacLean for one goal and was on-ice for two more. Pierre-Luc Dubois was also on for three Islanders goals. By the third, he was getting skipped on some shifts.
- Nic Dowd had another penalty and again it came late in a game. The PK unit was superb there, keeping the Isles without a shot.
- At the other end of the spectrum, Connor McMichael had assists on both Wilson goals and the Strome goal. He was Washington’s best player.
- What do we think of the Nils Hoglander rumor? I love the player but I can’t see a fit.
- Multiple times in the last month I had to be reminded that Dennis Cholowski used to play for the Capitals. Every time I’m told that it slips from my mind immediately after.
Plum! #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/RlfEAOoGhq
— RMNB (@rmnb) November 29, 2024
Great game from Strome, Wilson, McMichael, and Miroshnichenko. Rough game from Sandin, Roy, Dubois, and Thompson. Hero move from Chychrun.
The Caps will play again tomorrow. Feels like they’ve had a lot of back-to-backs lately. They have four more next month. See you soon.
