Justin Williams may have tallied the primary assist on Marcus Johansson’s round one series-ending goal, but his night ended in the worst possible way.
At some point while the three-time Stanley Cup champion was returning home, Williams received a gift from the Virginia State Police: a speeding ticket.
Two games after three Caps fans went viral for showing up at Maple Leaf Square, another Caps fan has showed up at the Leafs watch party. Wearing an Alex Ovechkin jersey, the Caps fan was seen proudly holding up a Russian machine never breaks sign.
The news was first reported by NBC 4’s @dckerNBC4.
Friday night, the Caps beat the Leafs 2-1 in overtime, taking a 3-2 lead in the series. It was yet another stressful night, with both teams trading chances and with the momentum seeming to swing almost shift to shift. The Leafs can hang.
Highlights included the game winner by Justin Williams on a defensive breakdown and another goal by TJ Oshie to kick off the scoring (he now has seven points in five games). The lowlight was an existentially terrifying hit on Alex Ovechkin by Nazem Kadri, with the big Russian somehow returning mostly unscathed for the second period. Also, Tom Wilson took four penalties (that can’t happen) which the Caps deftly killed, and Auston Matthews potted his third goal of the series.
The final shot attempt tally was 50 to 48 in favor of the Caps (at five-on-five), and scoring chances were 22-23 with the edge to the Leafs. The series could hardly be any closer.
By Nathan Sick 6 years ago
For nearly two minutes, Alex Ovechkin lay on the ice with his head in his hands, having absorbed a hit from Nazem Kadri that could have been season- or career-ending. Ovechkin limped off the ice with the help of teammates Nate Schmidt and Nicklas Backstrom and well as athletic trainer Greg Smith. It seemed clear Ovechkin would not return to the game.
Seventeen minutes later, Ovechkin was twirling on the ice, testing his leg out. A couple seconds after that, he slammed Jake Gardiner into the corner boards. Ovechkin stayed physical through the game, which the Capitals won 2-1 in overtime. Ovechkin finished with six hits and three shots on net. The seemingly cataclysmic injury had little effect.
Caps defenseman Nate Schmidt remarked of Ovechkin’s resilience, “Just replace the parts and keep going.”
Braden Holtby said it even better, invoking the name of this website.
By Chris Gordon 6 years ago
You guys, something magical happened Wednesday. The three major Washington DC area teams that are playing right now — the Washington Capitals, the Washington Wizards, and Washington Nationals — all won their games on April 19. Two of those teams, the Caps and the Wizards, won first-round playoff games.
Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming. DC is actually rising.
In advance of Game 4 tonight, I was interviewed on ESPN 980’s The Morning Blitz with Al Galdi. Al and I talked for about 15 minutes about the Caps in the playoffs, the “pucker factor,” statistics, luck, and more.
Click below to give it a listen.
By Nathan Sick 6 years ago
Monday night the Caps fell 4-3 to the Leafs in Game Three of their first-round series. There is no silver lining on this one, no makeup for this pig. As the President’s Trophy winning team, the playoff-hardened Caps failed to meaningfully compete against a young and inexperienced squad that was in doubt to make the playoffs two weeks ago.
At 41.3 percent in five-on-five shot attempt, this game would’ve slotted in as the Caps fifth-worst possession game of the entire season. Other than a brief stretch in the second period when the Caps played fairly well and looked it too, the stats for this game were as bad as the team looked.
The series is 2-1. It’s still winnable. But it’s not winnable if the Caps continue to play like the less experienced, less structured, and less dangerous team.
By Nathan Sick 6 years ago
Wednesday night, the Caps beat the Rangers 2-0 in their 12th shutout of the year, and Braden Holtby’s ninth. More importantly, it’s time for the playoffs. By gaining at least one point last night, the Caps clinched the Presidents’ Trophy and the Metro Division title for the second year in a row. They have only to wait and see who their opponent will be. Tonight there will be many relevant games to that end, and thankfully none of them will involve Pittsburgh.
Last night’s game was fairly evenly played, with the Caps getting outshot at five-on-five 18 attempts to 15 in the first period but then outshooting the Rangers 30 to 20 over the final two frames. Scoring chances were also even at 21 to 20.
By Nathan Sick 6 years ago
Tuesday night, the Caps beat the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 4-1. It was a strong road game by the Capitals, in which they shut down the Leafs’ superstars save for a last-minute powerplay goal by Mitch Marner to spoil the shutout. There was a lot to like last night. Kevin Shattenkirk finally netted his first goal as a Cap from the Ovi Spot™, and Nate Schmidt escaped his Schmidtuation with a very pretty goal. Alex Ovechkin also moved into second place all-time among Russian scorers.
While it felt like the Caps were in control from start to finish, shot attempts were even in this game at 46 to 44 in favor of the Caps at five-on-five. The disparity was a bit larger in terms of shots on net, with 31 to 21 in favor of the Caps. All in all, only six of the Caps’ five-on-five shot attempts were blocked.
By Nathan Sick 6 years ago
Tuesday night, the Capitals held on to beat the Minnesota Wild 5-4 in overtime to start a five-game road trip. The Caps just barely skirted by on this one, propped up almost entirely by special teams, Braden Holtby, and their top-line star power.
Alex Ovechkin had what was (surprisingly) his first ever three-PPG game and his 17th career hat trick. TJ Oshie continued to pressure the captain for the team lead in goals with two of his own (including the OT winner), and Nick Backstrom had yet another three-assist night.
Overall, this was a low-event game in terms of shot attempts. The two teams combined for only 60 shot attempts at five-on-five. The Caps alone produced 74 in their 2-1 win over Columbus. In the end, the Wild had the better of possession, with 38 five-on-five shot attempts to just 22 by the Caps.
By Nathan Sick 6 years ago
