The Washington Capitals live to fight another day. A regulation loss would have killed their playoff dreams, but instead, they picked up a 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in an emotional game.
One more year? Yeah, one more year sounds good.
- The Capitals didn’t put together as dominant a five-on-five performance against the more full-strength Penguins as they did against the B-team they faced on Saturday. However, it was still good enough, edging the Pens out in five-on-five high-danger chances, 15-14, and expected goals, 3.6-3.07. The second period was the team’s best analytically, as they created eight of their 15 high-danger chances in that frame.
- Obviously, the big story of the game was whether it was possibly Alex Ovechkin‘s final home game as a member of the Washington Capitals. I’m personally still unsure what he plans to do, which may mean he truly does not know yet. Ovechkin finished the game with 16:10 of ice time, one assist, three shots, five hits, and one shot block. If it’s truly the end, what a pleasure it has been to watch this man over the past two decades. I’m more than likely not writing this post right now without him.
- Logan Thompson pitched his fourth shutout of the season, making 24 stops in the 3-0 victory. According to MoneyPuck, he saved 2.58 more goals than expected. He has recorded two of his shutouts in his last four starts.
- Connor McMichael had a big game, recording three points (2g, 1a). He has been hot in April, posting seven points (4g, 3a) in six games. McMichael now has 46 points (14g, 32a) in 77 games overall this year. His 32 assists are a new single-season career high.
- Pierre-Luc Dubois recorded the primary assist on Trevor van Riemsdyk‘s goal to open the scoring. An injury doubt ahead of puck drop, Dubois has collected 10 points (1g, 9a) in his last seven games, dating back to March 31.
- With the win, the Capitals actually now have more wins (42) than both the Pittsburgh Penguins (41) and Philadelphia Flyers (41), who are slotted into playoff spots. If you want the latest on the different scenarios at play heading into the final game of the regular season, Ian has you covered again.
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