First Period
...was…blah.
There was no scoring and, frankly, even less action. The Rangers had a 10-8 edge in shots on goal,
but the Caps had a 17-13 edge in shot attempts.
There were no power plays. Matt
Niskanen led the good guys with two shots on goal. If there was an odd statistic, it was that
the Caps had as many shots blocked (eight) as shots on goal. Lars Eller won four of five draws, which was
the difference between a bad period (6-for-16) and a ghastly one (2-for-11
without Eller) in the circle. More odd
stuff…Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Chiasson led the Caps in credited hits (two
apiece). It was the sort of period one
might expect as the first one after a holiday break, the hockey equivalent of
getting up from the dinner table, waddling over to the recliner, sitting back,
and unbuttoning one’s pants before dozing off.
Someone has to win this game, because that’s what the rules require, but
it isn’t too early in this one to think neither team deserves it.
Second Period
It was a lot more of the same over the first half of the
period, but then the Caps were awarded a power play, so there was the promise
of some excitement. Shots from Nicklas
Backstrom and John Carlson yielded nothing, and then it was the Rangers’ turn
to enjoy a power play. Even less to be
had there, as the Caps held the Blueshirts without a shot on goal for the two
minutes. And then the Caps got another
power play late in the period. Alex
Ovechkin had a shot on goal…not “in” goal.
And so, the teams went to the second intermission without a red light
having been lit. The Caps did have a
21-18 edge in shots on goal and a 36-28 advantage in shot attempts. Jakub Vrana led the team with three shots on
goal, while Nicklas Backstrom had four shot attempts to top the roster. Vrana was the only Capital with a better than
50 percent mark in the faceoff circle through 40 minutes…he won his only draw.
Third Period
The Rangers started the period with an all-out assault on
the Caps’ net, outshooting the Caps 8-1 before the period was four minutes
old. Philipp Grubauer was up to that
challenge, though. And another…and
another…and, well, you get the picture. By
the time the period was over, Grubauer made a case to be the Vezina Trophy winner
on the basis of one game…one period, in fact…stopping all 18 shots he faced in the
period, many of them of the “best saves of the night” variety.
Overtime
The Caps had their chance.
John Carlson had a glorious opportunity on a wrap around, but a Jedi
force field apparently kept the puck from going in as it crawled the entire
length of the goal line before deflecting off the far post and out. And then, Alex Ovechkin took a tripping
penalty with less than 30 seconds left. The
Rangers could not convert, though, and the game went to the freestyle
competition.
The Gimmick
Rangers had two guys with the initials “MZ” (Mats
Zuccarello, Mika Zibanejad) score; the Caps had two guys whose last names end
in “O” (T.J. Oshie, Alex Ovechkin) stopped…Rangers win.
Other stuff…
- That was Ondrej Pavelec’ first shutout since he beat the Vancouver Canucks, 2-0, on March 22, 2016, as a member of the Winnipeg Jets.
- Philipp Grubauer stopped all 37 shots he faced, the most shots faced by a Caps goalie on the road without allowing a goal since Michal Neuvirth stopped 39 shots in a 1-0 win in Pittsburgh over the Penguins on February 21, 2011.
- It figures that the first time this season a Capitals goalie allows no goals in a game, the team loses.
- The Caps have now gone 145:01 without a goal.
- After suffering a four game streak in allowing at least one power play goal, the Caps had their second consecutive game denying the opponent a power play strike.
- The Caps went 1-1-2 on their four-game road trip around the holiday, but on the other hand, this is their third loss in a row, their longest losing streak of the season.
- Jakub Vrana and Alex Ovechkin led the team with four shots on goal apiece; Dmitry Orlov and Madison Bowey were the only skaters without a shot on goal.
- Back to Grubauer… In his last nine appearances he has a .936 save percentage, yet his record is just 2-3-2 (two no-decisions).
- Based on our quick research, this was the first 0-0 game to be settled in the Gimmick since the Edmonton Oilers beat the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal, 1-0, on February 5, 2017.
- The Rangers had a 64-54 edge in shot attempts. Rick Nash led the Rangers with eight attempts (six on goal); Ovechkin led the Caps with eight as well (four on goal).
In the end…
You could say it was the ice, which seemed to have the
quality of a snow cone, or you could say it was the first game after a holiday,
or you could say it was just one of those games in an 82-game season. Whatever, the Caps looked equal parts
sluggish and clueless over long stretches of this game. That they escaped with a standings point it
first, last, and entirely a product of the superb play of Philipp Grubauer in
goal in what would qualify as one of the best games by a goalie anywhere in the
NHL this season.
A 1-1-2 road trip is not the worst of outcomes, but how one
gets there matters. The Caps started
with an encouraging win in a difficult city, winning in overtime in
Dallas. But losing to the woeful Arizona
Coyotes in overtime, having their lunch eaten in front of them in the first 15 minutes in
a 3-0 loss to Vegas, and then this sleep-inducting spectacle made for what ended up being a
disappointing trip. The Caps will wrap
up the 2017 portion of their season at home against Boston and New Jersey. One hopes the familiar surroundings will give
them a boost of energy that seemed lacking on this trip.
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