Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his 16th goal of the season Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild and it was a big one.
After gathering a pass (that would end up being Nicklas Backstrom’s third assist of the night), Kuznetsov drove hard to the net and whipped a shot past Devan Dubnyk. The tally would end up being the game-winning goal.
Tuesday night the Caps beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 and put their first four-game losing streak since 2014 behind them. For 40 minutes this game had everything you’d want, with Alex Ovechkin ending his own goalless streak, a gorgeous Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, and the second goal of the year by the smiliest Capital, Nate Schmidt.
Alas, at the beginning of the third period the Caps promptly allowed a goal and then took their sixth and seventh minor penalties of the night, resulting in another goal against. But then something awesome happened… the Caps held the Wild without an even strength shot attempt for the final 19 minutes of the game. You read that right. Final shot attempts at five-on-five were 48 to 36 in favor of the Caps.
By Nathan Sick 6 years ago
Washington Capitals Head Coach Barry Trotz refers to Jay Beagle as Mr. Fix It , but Beags might need some repair work of his own after a head-butt from Nate Schmidt.
During the first period, The Human Emoji bumped heads with The Hockey Unicorn after Wild forward Nino Niederreiter dove out of the way of a point shot.
Saturday night in Los Angeles, Alex Ovechkin got national attention after diving and awkwardly falling into the Caps bench to avoid a too many men penalty.
Three nights later, Ovechkin was still having trouble making a shift change.
Tuesday night at Verizon Center, Nicklas Backstrom had another one of those sublime performances that have punctuated his ten-year NHL career. And he did it quietly of course.
Backstrom tallied three assists, including the primary apple on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s game-winning goal, to help push the Capitals to a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild – the second best team in the Western Conference.
With 2:52 remaining in the second period, Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a powerplay goal to put the Caps up 3-0 over the Wild. The Capitals had all the momentum and looked to breeze to their first win in ten days.
On the very next shift, Minnesota head coach Bruce Boudreau put enforcer Ryan White onto the ice and chaos erupted. White finished a legal check on Brooks Orpik in the Wild’s offensive zone. Tom Wilson dropped his gloves and skated after White.
The Caps are back on the east coast and everything is right in the world again. Besting bedraggled bench boss Bruce Boudreau’s Minnesota Wild at home, the Washington Capitals found the cure for what ailed them and delivered one heluva game for fans who needed to see one.
Here’s the part where I write about the goals. I shall begin by communicating the first goal in the most primal and raw way I know how.
Following 88 was Alex Ovechkin, ending a slump that had persisted since mid February. Evgeny Kuznetsov got in on the action with assist by fellow top-six center Nick Backstrom.
Matt Dumba opened up the third with a goal for the Wild, snuffing Holtby’s shutout. The Caps got into penalty trouble after that, enabling a goal by Caps killer Eric Staal to bring the Wild within one goal.
With six minutes to go, Jay Beagle put the Wild away with a breakaway goal.
Caps beat Wild 4-2!
(more…)
By Peter Hassett 6 years ago
The Caps have left the first period of Tuesday’s Wild game with the lead thanks to oft-scratched but universally beloved defender, Nate Schmidt.
The Capitals have returned from their California road trip that ended with no wins. If nobody talks about the California trip, it’s like it didn’t really happen. So, don’t mention it again.
The Capitals are now on a four-game losing streak in a division they can’t really be affording to be plunging in. Want some more bad news? They will be facing the Minnesota Wild who have been as dominant as the Capitals this season.
The good news is that puck drop is FINALLY back at 7:00 PM on CSN. Ahhhh to be home.
| Team | Record | SA% | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Capitals | 44-17-7 | 52.6% | 103.0 | 21.3% (7th) | 84.0% (7th) |
| Minnesota Wild | 43-18-6 | 49.3% | 102.9 | 21.1% (8th) | 84.0% (6th) |
By Elyse Bailey 6 years ago
