The Washington Capitals didn’t have their best against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night, but two points are two points. The Caps were opportunistic and pounced on the few chances they did create, downing the Habs 5-4 in a close one.
A win is a win, especially to end such a busy stretch for the Capitals. Hopefully, better play and more good results are to come.
- Folks, this was an ugly one when it comes to looking at the analytics and process stats. The Capitals didn’t record a single five-on-five high-danger chance until the third period, and they only managed to create two total there as well. At the end of regulation, Montreal was up 55-34 in shot attempts, 30-13 in scoring chances, 13-2 in high-danger chances, and 3.5-1.77 in expected goals. Just a disaster and completely unsustainable, but it’s one game. Never the end of the world. And they won it, so just toss the stat sheet in the garbage.
- Jordan Kyrou had his first big game with the Capitals, though it started poorly with that early turnover. He finished with two points (1g, 1a), 15:15 of ice time, three shots on goal, four individual scoring chances, and two hits. Need to get the puck on his tape more. He tends to go on some scorching hot streaks.
- The other big standout was, of course, Alex Tuch, who led the team with three points (2g, 1a). Tuch has been incredible to start his Caps tenure and is now tied with Ryan Leonard for the team lead in scoring with six points. Tuch’s first goal came shorthanded, and he has the second-most shorthanded goals (12) in the NHL since the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign, trailing only Sam Reinhart (13).
- The team’s two rookies also got in on the scoring action, with Ilya Protas picking up two assists and Cole Hutson notching one helper. The multi-point game was Protas’s second in his young career, and his first assist in the win was his first-ever on the power play. Hutson made some franchise history with his apple, becoming the fastest Capitals defenseman to record 10 career assists, surpassing Mikhail Tatarinov (23 games).
- Justin Holl scored his second goal in as many games for the Capitals, becoming the first Capitals defenseman to score in each of his first two games with the franchise. Oddly, he has done the same thing before, scoring in his first and second NHL games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018.
- Incredibly rough night for the team’s fourth line of Ryan Leonard, Boone Jenner, and Anthony Beauvillier. With Leonard on the ice at five-on-five, the Capitals were out-attempted 22-5, gave up two goals, and didn’t create a single scoring chance or high-danger chance. During those same minutes, Montreal created 16 scoring chances and 8 high-danger chances. Might want to try something different there.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-Reference, NaturalStatTrick, and HockeyStatCards.
