Immediately after the Caps-Blackhawks game ended, NBC sent their viewers to the final round of PGA’s Honda Classic. Shane Lowry, an Irish professional golfer, was hitting his tee shot on the par-3 15th. Let’s take a look and a listen at what happens.
I promise it will make you feel better about the Caps’ loss today.
The Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks played an entertaining, mostly even game on national TV Sunday afternoon. The Caps dominated the first period, Blackhawks dominated the second period, and the two teams played an even third period. It was unfortunate that one team had to lose. It was even more unfortunate that a team had to lose on what appeared to be a missed icing call.
Here’s the play.
Photo: Dennis Wierzbicki
On Saturday, Caps fans stared into a space trying to figure what Brian MacLellan was doing. Twenty-four later, our brains were unscrambled as his team took to the ice against the Chicago Blackhawks. Sunday NBC Game of the Week actually turned out to be the game of the week, with the enhanced defending champions taking on the NHL’s best team in a possible Stanley Cup Final preview.
Things got off to a great start for the Caps as the third line pounded the Blackhawks zone before Marcus Johansson whacked a line drive past Corey Crawford on the power play. On the next shift, however, the Capitals were too eager to exit the defensive zone and the Blackhawks jumped right on them, forcing Justin Williams to turn the puck over. Patrick Kane, the NHL’s leading point scorer, was alone in front of Braden Holtby to tie the game. The Capitals unleashed a torrent of shots on Crawford in the remaining minutes of the frame, but couldn’t regain the lead.
In the second, the script got flipped. The Blackhawks outshot the Capitals 14-4. Holtby stood tall for most of the period, but a late tripping call on Taylor Chorney gave the Blackhawks a power play. They converted when an excellent cross-ice pass from Teuvo Tervainen fooled the Capitals defense, leading to a wide open net for Jonathan Toews.
The third was a slow period, but Chicago was able to stretch their lead to two. After the Hawks took two penalties and Barry Trotz pulled Holtby, Evgeny Kuznetsov put the Caps within one on a six-on-three with almost a full power play remaining afterwards. They couldn’t convert. Blackhawks beat Caps 3-2.
By Chris Gordon 6 years ago
Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Hold onto your hats because it’s the most hectic time of season. The trade deadline is tomorrow, but much craziness has already transpired. In other exciting news, the Caps are jetting off to face the very good Blackhawks. Take a shot whenever someone says this game is “a potential Stanley Cup Finals preview.”
Fun fact: Caps PR says the good guys have beat the Blackhawks four times in a row and won seven of the last nine matchups. A less exciting statistic: the Caps have played 13 games this month, and all but three were decided by a single goal.
The party starts at 12:30, and it’s on NBC.
| Team | Record | Possession | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
| Washington Capitals | 45-11-4 | 51.6% | 102.1 | 23.3% (1st) | 84.2% (4th) |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 38-20-5 | 51.4% | 99.5 | 22.5% (2nd) | 80.0% (17th) |
By Margaret Stuart 6 years ago
