The Washington Capitals dug themselves an early hole against the Calgary Flames on Saturday. They were able to almost dig all the way back up, earning a point in the 4-3 overtime loss.
How did they come back and what were some of the early issues? Let’s talk about that.
- Well, the first period wasn’t even that bad when you look at it process-wise. The Capitals actually out-chanced the Flames seven to four and the high danger chances ended locked at three apiece. The ice at Capital One Arena early this season just has been terrible and it was killing the Caps early. They also got the immense pleasure of seeing an absolutely bogus roughing penalty that led to a Calgary goal. So, the comeback wasn’t exactly out of nowhere but I don’t mean to dampen the flame (lol) of it. They still went down three goals and it doesn’t matter if you out-shoot your opponent 75-3 if you’re down 3-0 at the end of regulation…you lose the game.
- The first and last goals of the comeback were scored by two dudes who are very familiar with the scoresheet so far this season. The only players with more points in the NHL so far than Alex Ovechkin (10) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (9) are Connor McDavid (13) and Leon Draisaitl (11) of the Oilers. That top line is still getting extremely sheltered zone starts but hey, it’s working and the team isn’t suffering for it so who cares.
- The line that I think actually was the catalyst for the change in momentum was the third line of Conor Sheary, Connor McMichael, and TJ Oshie. They didn’t end up actually scoring but they put the puck deep into the Flames zone and kept it there seemingly shift after shift, creating chances. With Oshie on the ice five-on-five, the Caps controlled almost 70-percent of the shot attempts, had a plus-four scoring chance differential, and created three high danger chances to Calgary’s zero.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scores to cut the Flames lead to 3-1. With his 427th career point, Kuznetsov has passed Kevin Hatcher (426) for 13th on the Capitals' franchise points list.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 23, 2021
- Now to some of the negatives. The power play is absolutely riding the struggle bus right now. It is completely 0-for since the three goals they scored against the Rangers on Opening Night and they give up shorthanded chances like candy. The Caps miss Nicklas Backstrom all over the ice but with a man advantage, it’s most noticeable. Without Nick, it forces Anthony Mantha into the down-low role normally reserved for Evgeny Kuznetsov and pushes Kuzy to the half wall. Mantha isn’t capable of the same sort of passes Backstrom and Kuznetsov are so the defensive coverage is easier and I think Peter Laviolette noticed that as he took Mantha off the top unit later in this game. What I would personally do is throw TJ Oshie down low and plug Tom Wilson into the slot. What say you, pals?
- I think the Capitals fourth line does a lot of things really well and they fill a much-needed space on this roster. However, they play way too much for my liking. They got blasted by the Flames top line in this game and I like Johnny Gaudreau and all but that line isn’t exactly one that I think needs to see a one-for-one matchup every time they’re on the ice. It’s not McDavid and friends. Carl Hagelin shouldn’t be playing as much (11:46) as someone like Alex Ovechkin (12:06) at five-on-five or more than someone like Tom Wilson (11:45) or Anthony Mantha (10:45). Some trust needs to be placed on someone else or your entire team suffers if that fourth line has an off night.
- Vitek Vanecek had some rebound control problems early and left the game after letting in three goals on 13 shots. Ilya Samsonov came in and became the goalie of record after the game was tied at three goals apiece. That leaves Laviolette with an interesting choice for Monday in Ottawa. Go back to Vanecek or stick with Samsonov?
Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.
