The Washington Capitals didn’t have their best against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night but they had enough. The worst team in the league definitely pushed in the third period but they’re the worst team in the league for a reason.
I was at this game in person mainly to see Connor Bedard live. Kid is good.
- The Capitals never really had full control of this game at five-on-five but they didn’t need it as the Blackhawks do not have a lick of offensive talent outside of one 18-year-old kid and had to face Charlie Lindgren in net. The Capitals’ best period was obviously the first where they scored three goals and had another called back to a very borderline offside decision. That twenty minutes proved to be enough for the rest of regulation as Chicago only managed to find a weird tip-in tally from Tyler Johnson and nothing more.
- Hendrix Lapierre started the game by making a bad read on an early power play which led to a shorthanded chance against but from then on really grew into the game. I’m so impressed by the level of confidence and swagger he’s playing with and I think it’s no mistake that he’s found this next level after his return trip to Hershey earlier this year which likely showed him the level he’s grown to. The 22-year-old pivot put away his seventh goal of the season and his fifth in the last six games. He now has eight points (5g, 3a) in his last seven NHL contests.
- I think it’s pretty safe to say that the Capitals missed Sonny Milano for the long stretch that he was out of the lineup. Milano has goals in five straight games after his marker on Saturday night and 10 total on the season. Per NHL PR, Milano is the first Capitals player not named Alex Ovechkin to score in five straight games since Tom Wilson scored in six straight during the 2018-19 campaign. Over a full 82-game slate, Milano’s current numbers would have him on pace for a 26-goal, 42-point season.
The Capitals have scored a power-play goal in seven-straight games and in 10 of their last 11 games. Since Feb. 8, the Capitals have converted on 15 of 45 power-play opportunities (33.3 percent).
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) March 10, 2024
- I’m gonna give Connor Bedard his own bullet because he’s the reason me and my dad went to this one in person. Bedard had a game-high 15 shot attempts which is some Ovechkin-type stuff. While I think the Capitals did a really good job on him overall in the game, there were flashes of brilliance mixed in and it’s clear he’s an offense-generating machine. I do think his small stature is a bit understated because he was getting bullied a bit along the boards at five-on-five but when he gets into open ice, it’s scary.
- Ho-hum, just another dominant, 31-save victory for Charlie Lindgren. There are some questionable general managers out there who didn’t try to pry Lindgren away from the Capitals at the deadline by maybe enticing them with a first-round pick. Instead, teams like the Los Angeles Kings and the New Jersey Devils either stood firm with their mediocrity or traded for goalies that were no better than the ones they already had. I don’t care at this point because the Capitals are benefitting from that now and Lindgren is awesome. Per MoneyPuck, he added another 1.4 goals saved above expected to his season ledger to give him 9.4 total.
- The Capitals are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. This upcoming, rough road stretch out west could be the final determining factor in whether this is an actual playoff push or if the math is just too clearly against them. I lean somewhere in the middle mainly because I don’t believe in the Philadelphia Flyers’ ability to keep things together in the final months.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.
