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That’s more like it: Caps beat Avs 5-2

Coming off a loss on Monday night to the Islanders, the Caps hosted the Avs on Tuesday night. The Avs smoked the Caps last month so the dudes in red were looking for revenge.

Jakub Vrana got the party going early with a great snipe off a beautiful pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov.

The Caps killed off a penalty to start the second. But just a few minutes later Colin Wilson found himself alone in front and he tied the game at 1. If you managed to stay awake through the bulk of the second, you saw a John Carlson blast give the Caps a 2-1 lead late in the period.

About six minutes into the third, Brett Connolly ripped a shot from the Ovi spot to put the Caps up 3-1. The teams played at four-on-four late in the third and the Caps took advantage. Kuznetsov made yet another beautiful pass, this time setting up Matt Niskanen, who put the Caps up 4-1. Tyson Jost added a late goal to pull the Avs within two. And then DSP added an empty net goal for the home team.

Caps win 5-2.

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By Patrick Holden 5 years ago

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First line dominant: Caps beat Blackhawks 6-2

The fiercest of rivalries came our way for Wednesday’s rivalry night as Chicago visited DC.

Nicklas Backstrom had not scored in 21 games. That ended tonight as he was on the finishing end of a tic-tac-toe goal to put the Caps up 1-0 in the first. Minutes later, Tom Wilson scored from the #WillySpot he always scores from to put the Caps up 2-0. But the first line wasn’t done yet. Soon enough, Wilson was stopped on a breakaway (yes, really) but Ovechkin put away the rebound to stretch the lead to 3-0. The Blackhawks made it 3-1 late in the first when Lance Bouma (who is a real NHL player) put home a rebound.

The Blackhawks dominated the second period, but Braden Holtby stayed strong. Late in the period, Brett Connolly notched a power play goal to extend the lead back to three.

In the third, Mr. Rodeo, Evgeny Kuznetsov, put the home team up 5-1. With under five minutes to play, Jonathan Toews turned an Ovechkin miscue into a breakaway goal to make the game 5-2. Tom freaking Wilson added an empty-net goal to cap off a four-point night.

Caps beat Blackhawks 6-2!

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By Patrick Holden 5 years ago

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Kuzy magic undone by nine bad seconds: Kings beat Caps 5-2

The Caps kicked off a five game homestand against the Kings on Thursday night.

Evgeny Kuznetosov put the Caps up 1-0 in the first. The play was started by a great read and pinch by Dmitry Orlov in the neutral zone. Orlov fed Kuznetsov, who made quick work of the Kings goalie. Later in the first, Braden Holtby stopped Marian Gaborik on a breakaway but the Kings played a mean pinball on the rebound to tie the game at 1.

In the second period, that Kuznetsov guy scored again to put the Caps up 2-1. He looks like he might be a player in this league, but then the Kings scored two goals in nine seconds to take a 3-2 lead. Not great, Bob.

The Caps pushed back after the nine second lapse. They had chances. They came in waves at time. But they couldn’t tie the game. Gaborik and Toffoli added a pair of empty-net goals to ice this one.

Caps lose 5-2.

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John Carlson is doing his best Alex Ovechkin impression

Due to increased ice time coupled with shooting the puck at a higher rate, John Carlson is currently leading the Caps in shot attempts at five-on-five this season.

On most teams, it would not be especially noteworthy that an offensively gifted defender playing nearly half of each game would attempt the most shots on the team. But the Caps are not most teams. The Caps have Alex Ovechkin who, even though he may not shoot as much as he used to, is used to taking more shots than any of his teammates by a wide margin.

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Caps vs Penguins pregame: Strong links

The second place Pittsburgh Penguins come to town tonight to play the seventh place Washington Capitals. The good news is, while there are four teams between these two in the Metro standings, the Caps aren’t far behind. The Caps trail the Penguins by only three points and have a game in hand.

NBCW has your coverage for the 7 PM game. Christopher who hails from the comments will have your recap.

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Thanks for trying, Philipp: Sabres beat Caps 3-1

The second half of back-to-backs are hard. Doing it on the road is even harder.

The Caps got out shot 9-3 in the first half of the first period, but they survived. The Caps continued to get out shot pretty badly in the first, but Grubauer stood tall, making 15 saves in the opening frame.

In the second period, Grubauer could be perfect no more. Jack Eichel toyed with both Lars Eller and Brooks Orpik before finding Evander Kane in front of the net to put Buffalo on top 1-0. Late in the second, Devante Smith-Pelly made a sweet pass to Alex Ovechkin and you know how this one ended. Game tied 1-1 after two.

A little over three minutes into the third, Benoit Pouliot took advantage of Jakub Vrana and Brooks Orpik being back on defense to put Buffalo back on top 2-1. The Caps made a late push but couldn’t find the back of the net. Kane added an empty netter for Buffalo.

Sabres beat Caps 3-1.

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TJ Oshie is on pace for over 30 goals again but he’s doing it a different way

Last season TJ Oshie scored scored 33 goals with a 23.1 percent shooting percentage.

This season, through 15 games, Oshie is on pace for 33 goals again, with six goals and a 20.0 percent shooting percentage.

But the way in which Oshie is scoring this season is different from last.

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Third line magic: Caps beat Isles 4-3

A 7 pm start? A 7 pm start! The Isles came to town to visit the Caps on Thursday to kick off an extended one-game homestand for the team in red.

Taylor Chorney threw a puck on net through traffic that found its way behind Halak to put the Caps up 1-0 early. But the Caps coughed up that lead later in the first, as John Tavares scored on the power play. Before the first was over, Chandler Stephenson picked up his second primary assist of the night (and second of his career) as Lars Eller scored to put the Caps up 2-1.

You’ll never believe this, but the Isles tied the game late in the second on a power play goal. However, Alex “The Answer” Chiasson answered about 0.0003 seconds later to put the Caps back on top, 3-2.

Braden Holtby did his best to maintain the lead while his teammates did nothing, but Anders Lee eventually tied the game seven minutes into the third. But the Caps have Lars Eller and the Isles don’t. The third line center put the Caps up 4-3 with just over three minutes to go in the game on the Caps second shot on goal of the period.

Caps beat Isles 4-3!

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On what’s made Christian Djoos’ first nine NHL games a success

Twelve games into the season, not much has gone as planned for the Caps. Among other factors, injuries to important players and struggles on home ice have the Caps at just eleven points, putting the team on the outside looking in on the Eastern Conference playoff race.

But there have also been bright spots. One such spot is Christian Djoos. Through nine career games, Djoos has shown he’s capable of holding down a full-time job in the NHL, which is remarkable for a team as thin on the blue line as the Caps.

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Choosing the middle ground: Snapshot 1

Nine games into the season, there’s been some good and some bad from the Washington Capitals. There’s certainly been more bad than we’re accustomed to from a team that has been a juggernaut over the last two seasons. Is nine games enough to be be truly concerned about the issues we’ve seen? Well, yes and no.

If you look back at our first snapshot from last season, done after the 11th game of the season, you can see that two of the main takeaways held up over the course of the season:

  • Brooks Orpik and Nate Schmidt look like a really good third pairing
  • What is going on with Karl Alzner?

But there’s also reason to use caution instead of making sweeping generalizations about the Caps struggles early in the season:

  • Matt Niskanen is out
  • Numerous young players are adjusting to life in the NHL. If a player like Madison Bowey or Christian Djoos spend significant time in DC this season, they may become more comfortable and entrusted as the season goes on.
  • There are 73 games left (which yes, could end up feeling like a curse, not a blessing, if the Caps continue to take this many penalties, more injuries happen, and so on).

This Caps team almost certainly won’t end up being as good as they were during the last two regular seasons, but this doesn’t mean the Caps are destined to be bad. There’s a middle ground between running away with the President’s Trophy and needing to trade away your stars and rebuild. This season might be more frustrating than the last two, but it’s too early to write off a team that’s 4-4-1 through nine games.

Welcome back to the snapshot, friends. LET US DO THE NUMBERS.

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