The Washington Capitals’ 8-1 loss to the New York Rangers was a kick in the gut. But there was at least one memorable moment from the game.
Capitals rookie defenseman Cole Hutson nearly had his own “Ovechkin at MSG” highlight-reel goal after some sick dangles in the offensive zone.
Late in the first period, Hutson, along the wall and with his back to Gabe Perreault, slid the puck through the Rangers rookie’s legs and into open space, giving himself a lane to the net in the high slot. Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad stepped up to Hutson next to challenge for the puck, but was walked around as Hutson slid the puck onto his backhand. Before he could get a shot away, Hutson got poke-checked by Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider and lost control of the puck.
The filthy dangles were another example of Hutson’s incredible skill and creativity at age 19. It also showed off the incredible amount of confidence he plays with, because if Perreault could have gotten his stick or skate on the puck, he could have sprung himself on a breakaway.
By the end of the night, however, the good feelings from that play were long gone as the Capitals surrendered five unanswered goals in the second period and ended up losing the must-win game 8-1.
Hutson had no shots on goal and two individual shot attempts in 18:37 of ice time. At five-on-five, he was also on the ice for a team-high four goals against and none for, giving him a team-low game score of -5.76.
