The Washington Capitals dropped a divisional matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. The tired Caps got into Raleigh at 2 am the morning before puck drop, and that was definitely evident in their performance, a 5-1 loss.
Never fun watching a loss to those guys.
- For the short amount of time that this game was played at five-on-five, the Hurricanes did their usual in terms of controlling the puck. They out-attempted the Capitals 43-32 at five-on-five. However, the Capitals, when not passing the puck directly to Carolina, actually created more five-on-five high-danger chances, 10-4, than the Hurricanes. The difference in the final score line was more related to performance on special teams and the three goaltenders that took the ice.
- The Capitals’ penalty kill allowed three power-play goals. You simply are not going to win many hockey games if you let the opposition put up those sorts of numbers on their power play.
- Logan Thompson also continued his poor run of play in net, allowing three goals on 12 shots before departing the game after the first period. Per MoneyPuck, he allowed 1.47 more goals than expected. Charlie Lindgren, who replaced Thompson, allowed two goals on the 20 shots he faced and saved 0.74 more goals than expected. Carolina’s Frederik Andersen outplayed them both, making 20 stops on 21 shots faced and saving 2.02 more goals than expected.
- Alex Ovechkin scored his 892nd career goal. He is now two goals shy of tying and three goals shy of passing Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history. Ovi had a very active night, firing four shots on goal and recording eight individual shot attempts, five individual scoring chances, and four individual high-danger chances.
- I thought Ryan Leonard was the best Capitals player on the ice, and that’s with no bias, even though I’m the “prospect guy.” He recorded his first NHL shot in the loss and just made great decisions with the puck whenever he got it, showcasing his high skill level in tight areas several times. He also drew a penalty and threw three more hits after throwing three in his debut. Leonard’s speed looks like it’s going to play in the NHL, and the kid is clearly going to explode offensively at some point. That offense may not come this season, but it will eventually.
- He was so good, I’m going to give him another bullet. With Leonard on the ice at even strength, the Capitals were up one on the Hurricanes in shot attempts (12-11), recorded four more scoring chances (6-2), and six more high-danger chances (6-0). He wasn’t just a passenger on his line either; he was driving that play. Really, really good signs. Now, the guys around him just need to get their stuff together.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-Reference, NaturalStatTrick, and HockeyStatCards.
