The Washington Capitals made the quick trip up to Hershey, Pennsylvania to play a preseason game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. A jam-packed Giant Center saw a Capitals roster full of former Hershey Bears players take it to their Metropolitan Division rivals.
Andrew Cristall opened the scoring with a power-play snipe from the left faceoff circle. Ivan Miroshnichenko dazzled the crowd with a beautiful move to the front of the net to double the lead. Sonny Milano stayed red hot, jamming home a third for the Capitals.
Jacob Gaucher got the Flyers on the board in the second period, capitalizing on a rebound given up by Clay Stevenson. Connor McMichael returned to Hershey and put the Capitals back up three with a shorthanded snipe. Milano grabbed another off a beautiful pass from Hendrix Lapierre.
Observsations
- Andrew Cristall is going to be an offensive dynamo. While asset management might keep him in the AHL this season, he’s not going to be waiting long for his inevitable NHL debut. I saw him score that same exact power-play goal in the WHL, maybe 850 times. If you’re unfamiliar with him, he’s an absolute wizard with the puck who recorded 132 points (48g, 84a) in 57 games split between the Kelowna Rockets and Spokane Chiefs last year.
- Another nice showing from Ivan Miroshnichenko, at least on the offensive side of the puck. He has made two really nice plays in both preseason games he has featured in, including his individual effort to score the second goal in this game. Miro is waiver-exempt, which might actually hurt his case to make the team’s final roster, but he’s got to be pushing the team’s decision-makers.
- Sonny Milano and Hendrix Lapierre also are just not going to go away. The two combined for another five points (2g, 3a) after notching seven points (3g, 4a) in their first preseason game against the Boston Bruins. Lapierre’s positional flexibility may give him the upper hand over some of the other names vying for a full-time NHL spot. He has been undeniable so far this fall.
- Awesome to see all the brotherly love on the ice, and I’m not talking about those dudes in orange. Dylan Strome was the only one of himself, Matt Strome, Aliaksei Protas, and Ilya Protas to record a point, but still special to see them all out there nonetheless.
- Vincent Iorio scored a goal in this game, but wasn’t credited for it because there was no official video review. Multiple TV replays showed the puck going in but the officials are not allowed to use those for…reasons. Some of the most NHL-coded malarkey of all time.
- Good to know Connor McMichael still has that sort of finish in him. I bet we see a lot more of him in shorthanded situations this season, given his ability to think the game and his speed.
- Clay Stevenson had a pretty brilliant night outside of the rebound he allowed on the Flyers’ goal. According to reports, Stevenson might be claimed off waivers by another NHL team once the Capitals attempt to reassign him to the Bears this fall. Could we see a response from the Caps with a trade of some sort? I’d keep an eye on that.
The Capitals will have Friday off, followed by a day of regular training camp practice on Saturday, and then head to the Prudential Center to play the Devils on Sunday. The team will play six total preseason games before opening their regular season at home against the Boston Bruins on October 8.
