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The Washington Hathaways and Samsonovs: Capitals beat Kings 2-0

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The Washington Capitals continued their West Coast trip, finishing off a Californian back-to-back with a date in LA against the Kings. It was a very rare road game where they sported their red, home jerseys.

Garnet Hathaway got juuuuuuussssstttt enough on the puck to give the Caps a late lead. The goal came from fantastic feeds from Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson. He got the empty netter as well.

Ilya Samsonov shutout.

Capitals beat Kings 2-0!

  • I liked the Caps’ first period. Thought the Kings probably had more quantity but the Caps had the majority of the quality. Tom Wilson himself probably had more grade-A chances than the entire Kings team. Unfortunately, the Capitals are apparently not allowed to go on a power play in the state of California.
  • What’s the verdict on these Kings unis, folks? I’m a fan of trying different things but unless you’re early career Alex Ovechkin, no one is rocking chrome in a hockey uniform successfully.
  • The ice at Staples Center looks to be better suited for LeBron James and the rest of the Lakers. I feel bad for any actual skill players that play in California.

  • The second period was a little too sloppy for my liking. The Kings just sat five dudes in neutral though this entire game so it’s tough to even evaluate anything when a team purposefully plays that negative. Ilya Samsonov was very good though. I could tell at least that.
  • The Kings should not be allowed to play like that in the neutral zone at home against teams from the Eastern Conference. This is blatant psychological warfare. 0-0 after forty minutes, help us all.
  • Dmitry Orlov got to punch Brendan Lemieux in the face and didn’t get a penalty for it and I just want to say that it’s unfair that Dima gets to live my dream like that.
  • Man, I really like Aliaksei Protas, he was the best Caps skater in this game for my money. The kid just seems to “get it” more and more every game he plays. His reach and size paired with his offensive leaning mind should mean very good things in the future. His nickname in junior was also the “The Viper Of Vitebsk” and that’s just plain cool.

  • Third period was where it showed which team was rested for like four days before this game and which team was playing in a back-to-back. Caps showed hella grit and will to find a way to grab a lead. It pained me to write that sentence but it was true. Garnet Hathaway is a gem.
  • I talked on the Pizza’s Here Podcast the other day about how I think the power play is far too rigid with the current personnel being deployed on it…which makes it entirely too predictable. Give me Connor McMichael down low and Aliaksei Protas or Daniel Sprong in the slot. I add Sprong there because I know Laviolette would never give Protas that chance. It is crying out for dudes that can make more than one pass which I don’t think Sheary and Wilson can do. Evgeny Kuznetsov is currently being asked to do absolutely everything creative.
  • Ilya Samsonov was fantastic and I just want to know why he cant be that composed and controlled every game? Some of those reaction saves were unreal. Another shutout for Sammy.

Next up for the Caps is a foray into the Shark Tank in San Jose. That place has historically not been kind to the Capitals.

Screenshot via NBC Sports Washington

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