The Washington Capitals laid an egg in Columbus. The Blue Jackets stomped them out to the tune of an embarrassing 7-0 defeat, the team’s worst of the season.
Good news – they can get it right back later tonight.
- There is nothing good you can really say about losing 7-0. The Caps actually managed to out-attempt the Blue Jackets at five-on-five, 55-52. I guess that’s something. Their third period wasn’t that bad, as they posted 12 scoring chances. Yeah, I’m at a loss for this one, folks. Don’t think you can blame me.
- Hunter Shepard started for the first time in the NHL this season and allowed seven goals on 26 shots. No use in piling on him, but I’m going to present our usual with goaltenders in the next sentence. Per MoneyPuck, Shepard allowed 3.77 more goals than expected. On the flip side, Jet Greaves saved 3.55 more goals than expected for the Blue Jackets. A lot of the story of this game is right there.
- Ryan Leonard got into his first fight. It didn’t go great, but it didn’t go as poorly as it could have gone. Really happy that he was just fine after taking that hit from Adam Fantilli. I thought he showed more flashes of the brilliant player he’s going to be one day, but this year’s Caps will hope those flashes lead to some points on the scoresheet in the present day over the next few weeks. Leonard fired a team-high four shots on goal and eight individual shot attempts.
- I’m going to deviate from the terrible game to talk a little about prospects with some updates system-wise. As you can see above, Cole Hutson missed out on a national championship, but he tallied an assist in the final, giving him 48 points (14g, 34a) in 39 freshman-season games. His older brother Lane Hutson posted the same exact point total in his freshman season at BU, 48 points (15g, 33a) in 39 games during the 2022-23 campaign. If you’re unaware of how good the elder Hutson has been for the Montreal Canadiens this year, go take a look at the NHL rookie scoring leaderboard. Oh, and you’ll probably get a first-hand look at him in the first round of the playoffs, too.
- Ilya Protas and the Windsor Spitfires are up 2-0 in their second-round series against the Kitchener Rangers. Protas had two points (2a) in Game 2 on Saturday and is leading the entire OHL in postseason scoring with 20 points (3g, 17a) through just seven games.
- Andrew Cristall and the Spokane Chiefs are yet to start their second-round series against the Victoria Royals, but probably as expected, Cristall is leading the entire WHL in playoff points per game (3.0). He has posted 12 points (7g, 5a) in just four games.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-Reference, NaturalStatTrick, and HockeyStatCards.
