A NO-Point Night: Washington Capitals -- Game 12: Red Wings 3 - Capitals 1

The Washington Capitals faced the Detroit Red Wings in Motown on Thursday night, determined to end a two-game losing streak (both losses in extra time).  Detroit came into this contest hoping that a visit from the Caps would let them rinse the bad taste of an 8-3 loss to Buffalo out of their mouths.  Detroit did just that, scoring late and adding an empty netter for a 3-1 win.

First Period…

Each team has a great chance in the first minute, and one might have thought this was going to be one of those shootout games reminiscent of the 1980’s.  But things slowed down quickly thereafter.  Things did not pick up for the Caps until Connor McMichael had a chance in the 14^th minute whe he walked around the defense and cut through the low slot, but he could not left the puck over the left pad of goalie Ville Husso. He was fouled on the play, Robert Hagg called for slashing at the 13:04 mark.  The Caps had two shots on goal on the power play, but neither of them found paydirt, and the teams continued scoreless.

Detroit was awarded their first power play of the game shortly thereafter, Nic Dowd going off for tripping at 15:51 of the period.  Detroit had one unsuccessful shot on the man advantage, and the game continued to the final horn with no scoring, the teams going off with a 0-0 score up on the board.

-- This was the Caps’ second game this season that went to the first intermission scoreless.  The Caps and Nashville were 0-0 after one period in the Caps’ 3-0 win over the Predators on October 29^th.

-- The teams finished the period with nine shots apiece; the Caps out-attempted the Red Wings, 22-14.

-- Alex Ovechkin was the only Capital with more than one shot (two); he and Marcus Johansson had four attempts apiece.

-- Washington had a 9-7 edge in faceoffs; Lars Eller took seven of the 16 draws for the Caps, going 4-for-7.

-- Nick Jensen led the Caps in ice time (8:23); Joe Snively skated 2:59.

Second period…

Washington applied strong pressure in the Detroit zone early in the period, and it paid off when Filip Hronek went off for cross-checking at 3:35 of the period, putting the Caps on their second power play of the game.  The Caps had three shots on goal on the man advantage and one as the penalty expired, but did not score.

And then it happened.  Alex Ovechkin put the Caps on the board with his sixth goal of the season, his 786^th career goal, and his 786^th goal with one franchise, tying Red Wing legend Gordie Howe for most all-time

 
Detroit went to the power play at 13:23 when Lars Eller was sent off for slashing.  The Red Wings made good on the opportunity when David Perron sent a cross-ice pass through the slot to Dominik Kubalik for a one-timer from the right-wing circle.  Goalie Darcy Kuemper made the initial save, but the puck leaked out to his right where Lucas Raymond picked it up and tucked it around the post to make it 1-1, 14:50 into the period.

Detroit appeared to take the lead at 17:22, but the goal was washed out after video review for goaltender interference, David Perron knocking Kuemper to the ice, perhaps with some assistance from Caps defenseman Martin Fehervary.

Detroit was awarded another penalty late in the period when Alex Ovechkin was whistled for tripping.  Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lucas Raymond went off with coincidental minors, Kuznetsov for cross-checking and Raymond for roughing, at 19:08 of the period.  The Caps had the only chance in the dying seconds of the period, though, when Nic Dowd broke in on a mini-break, but Moriz Seider got back just in time to deflect his shot high over the crossbar.  The teams went to the intermission tied, 1-1, the remaining 1:08 of the Detroit power play carrying over to the third period..

-- Washington out-shot Detroit, 15-9, in the period and out-attempted them, 21-15.

-- Alex Ovechkin and Matt Irwin led the team with three shots apiece through 40 minutes; Ovechkin had seven shot attempts.

-- The Caps had a 22-16 edge in faceoff wins through two periods; Nic Dowd was the only Capital under 50 percent (2-for-5/40.0 percent).

Third period…

The Caps skated off the remainder of the shorthanded situation to keep the game tied at a goal apiece.  Washington went to a power play when Filip Zadina went to the box for hooking at 4:20 of the period.  The Caps had one inconsequential shot on goal, and it remained 1-1.

Andrew Copp broke the tie in the Red Wings’ favor when the Red Wings worked the puck beneath the goal line where Adam Erne fed Copp in front for a one timer that Kuemper got a piece of, but not enough as the puck crawled over the goal line at 16:10 to make it 2-1, Detroit.

The Caps had a chance to deadlock the game once more when they were given a power play at 16:27, Michael Rasmussen going off for tripping.  The Caps pulled Kuemper with a half minute left in the power play, but the Caps still could not score.

Detroit scored into an empty net with 27.5 seconds left, Dylan Larkin doing the honors, to seal the Red Wings’ 3-1 win.

Other stuff…  

-- Alex Ovechkin’s second period goal also gave him 400 career goals on the road, the second player in NHL history to score 400 goals on the road (Wayne Gretzky: 402).

-- It was also Ovechkin’s 64^th “first goal” scored on the road in his career (second to Brett Hull: 65) and 133^rd overall (second to Jaromir Jagr: 135).

-- The Caps outshot the Red Wings, 34-26, and out-attempted them, 62-42.

-- Martin Fehervary led the team with four shots on goal; Alex Ovechkin had nine attempts.

-- The Caps won 36 of 55 faceoffs (65.5 percent); Dylan Strome was 14-for-19 (73. 7 percent).

-- Fehervary also led the team in credited hits (four).

-- Dmitry Orlov led the team with 21:14 in ice time; Connor McMichael skated 8:56

-- Aliaksei Protas was the only Capital without a shot on goal.

-- The absences are wearing on the offensive side of the puck.  Since scoring six goals in a 6-3 win over New Jersey on October 24^th, the Caps have eight goals in their last five games.

-- Darcy Kuemper stopped 23 of 25 shots (.920), the sixth time in his last eight appearances that he had a game save percentage of .920 or better.

In the end…

The Caps just did not have it tonight.  Ville Husso played well, but it was not as if he stood on his head.  The Caps just have too much offense on the shelf (they missed John Carlson on power plays, Tom Wilson and T.J. Oshie as net presences) and are leaving points on the table as a result.  This is what trying to tread water until players come back looks like.  A lot of games played on the margin, and it is tough to generate winning streaks in that situation.  Hopefully, the Caps can shake loose against Arizona on Saturday.

 

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 12: Capitals at Red Wings, November 3

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

After a quick stop at home for the Washington Capitals, they head back on the road on Thursday to face the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.  The Caps will be out to end a losing streak at two games, both in extra time, while the Red Wings will likely be in an ornery state of mind having been flattened in Buffalo by the Sabres, 8-3, in their last contest.

The eight goals allowed put a spotlight on a problem the Wings have had this season – keeping pucks out of their own net.  Four times in nine games so far they allowed five or more goals, although they also have three games in which they allowed one or no goals.  What the Wings have not had, and what the unsettled scoring defense indicates, is consistency in goal.  Overall, Ville Husso has been what Red Wings fans hoped he would be when he signed a three-year/$14.25 million contract with the team last July after spending his first two NHL seasons with the St. Louis Blues.  In five games to date, Husso is 3-1-1, 2.40, .926, with one shutout.  The word “overall” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that earlier sentence, because while his numbers are good, “overall,” he has been wildly inconsistent game-to-game.  His five games to date, save percentage wise, look like this:

• October 14 vs. Montreal: 29-for-29 (1.000)
• October 17 vs. Los Angeles: 31-for-36 (.861)
• October 23 vs Anaheim: 32-for-33 (.970)
• October 27 at Boston: 28-for-33 (.848)
• October 29 vs. Minnesota: 30-for-31 (.968)

Caps fans will hope that sawtooth pattern in save percentage persists for at least one more game, should he get the call.

As for Husso’s backup, Alex Nedeljkovic, his year has progressed from good to fair to bad to ghastly.  Overall (there’s that word again), he is 1-2-1, 4.96, .871.  As if that was not bad enough, though, his game-to-game performances have been as follows:

• October 15^th at New Jersey: 37-for-39 (.949)
• October 21^st at Chicago: 25-for-29 (.862)
• October 25^th vs. New Jersey: 35-for-41 (.854)
• October 31 at Buffalo: 38-for-46 (.826)

That is a goals allowed progression that he would like to forget – two, four, six, eight, boy-oh-boy, that sure ain’t great.  His performance comes at an inopportune time for him, personally.  He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.  Husso is 2-0-0, 1.50, .938 in two career appearances against the Caps, while Nedeljkovic has never faced the Caps.

It has not been all goaltending, though.  The Red Wings have allowed a lot of shots on goal – 35.2 per game, fifth-most in the league.  And that brings us to defenseman Moritz Seider, last season’s Calder Trophy winner as top rookie and a first team All-Rookie Team member.  Seider arrived with authority to the NHL, going 7-43-50 last season.  His start to this season has been somewhat less impressive – 0-2-2, even, in nine games.  He also was on ice for nine even strength goals in those nine games, second-most on the club, but this might not be all that surprising given his team-leading 21:55 in ice time per game.  That ice time has been an indicator, even if only coincidental, of team success.  Detroit is 3-0-1 when he logged 22 or more minutes of ice time, 1-3-1 when he skated less than 22 minutes.  Shooting also seems to be at least a coincidental indicator of team success.  In four games in which he posted two or more shots on goal, Detroit is 3-0-1, and they are 1-3-1 when he posted one or no shots.  Seider is 0-1-1, minus-1, in three career games against Washington.

David Perron is among the most traveled players in the NHL.  Now in his 16^th NHL season, he is in his first season with Detroit – his sixth NHL team – after signing a two-year/$9.5 million contract with the Red Wings last July.  He has been a consistent producer over the course of his career – 20 or more goals six times (15 or more 11 times), 50 or more points six times (40 or more 11 times), at least one power play goal in 15 of 16 seasons (he missed in 2010-2011 when he appeared in only ten games), at least 15 minutes a game in 14 seasons, at least one game-winning goal in 15 seasons (again missing in 2010-2011).  This season, Perron already has five goals (in nine games), two of them game-winners, two of them power play goals.  Odd Perron stat… he has two shots in seven of the nine games he played (six and none his totals in the other two games).  Perron is 2-11-13, plus-2, in 21 career games against the Caps.

1.  Giving up eight goals is unusual, perhaps not so much for the Red Wings.  When they lost the the Sabres, 8-3, on Hallowe’en night, it was the fifth time in calendar year 2022 that they allowed eight or more goals, most in the league over that span.

2.  About those 35.2 shots on goal allowed.  And things have gotten worse lately.  Over their last four games, the Wings have allowed an average of 37.8 shots per game and allowed more than 40 twice.

3.  Detroit has the league’s fourth best penalty kill on home ice (92.4 percent).  Added to their fifth-ranked power play at home (29.4 percent, tied with Seattle), and their special teams index at home of 121.7 ranks second in the league.

4.  The Red Wings are the worst team in the league at home on faceoffs (42.3 percent).

5.  Detroit scored first in four of five home games so far, but they are just 2-1-1 in those games.

1.  The Caps are tied for 23^rd (with Chicago) in scoring offense on the road (2.50 goals per game).

2.  And, in the interests of symmetry, the Caps are tied for fourth in the league in scoring defense with, yes, 2.50 goals allowed per game.

3.  Washington has the league’s sixth-best penalty kill on the road (84.0 percent).

4.  Can a faceoff be won by neither team in this game? While Detroit has the league’s worst faceoff winning percentage at home, the Caps have the third-worst faceoff winning percentage on the road (41.4 percent).

5.  Only New Jersey has won more games on the road by three or more goals (three) than the Caps (two).

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Detroit: Dylan Larkin

Detroit has been rebuilding with an aim toward regaining the lofty stature it had in the 1990’s and 2000’s for the last half dozen seasons.  And soon, they will have a decision to make as that rebuild continues.  Dylan Larkin has known no other NHL organization but the Red Wings, taken by Detroit with the 15^th overall pick in the 2014 Entry Draft, and now in his eighth season with the Red Wings and currently serving as team captain.  But at season’s end, his current five-year/$40.5 million contract will expire.  At age 26, he is entering the prime production years of his career and could be a player with a lot of suitors in unrestricted free agency.  It puts the Red Wings in the position of making a choice – sign him, trade him, or (if the team is challenging for a playoff spot) keep him and risk losing him for nothing.  In his last 80 games, covering 71 games last season and nine games this season, Larkin is 36-44-80 (including 5-6-11 in nine games this season), with eight power play goals, four game-winning goals, three overtime goals, and a shorthanded goal for good measure.  Larkin has been good early in games, 12 of his 36 goals being first goals in games, more than the next three Red Wings over that span (Pius Suter, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Michael Rasmussen combining for 11).  He has been an efficient shooter (15.2 percent over that span) and a minutes-eater (19:44 in ice time per game).  Larkin is 3-6-9, minus-1, in 16 career games against the Caps.

Washington: Garnet Hathaway

When Garnet Hathaway had his leg bent awkwardly underneath him when he got tangle up with a Vegas Golden Knight opponent on Tuesday night, a Caps fan might have been forgiven for thinking, “oh no, not another one.”  With the way forwards have been injured and with long absences expected in many cases, another would not have been surprising.  But Hathaway returned and played his usual feisty sort of game that Caps fans have grown to appreciate.  The Caps are said to have one of, if not the best fourth line in the NHL, and Hathaway has been a big part of that.  Last year, he had a career high in goals (14), tied his career high in assists (12), set a career high in points (26), was a career-best plus-19, posted a career high in shots (124), and averaged a career high 13:23 in ice time per game.

Hathaway’s start this season had been a bit sluggish on offense.  He has one goal and one assist in 11 games and has only six shots on goal with a plus-1 rating.  He had both the goal and the assist in one game, the Caps’ 6-3 win over New Jersey on October 24^th.  But he has been on ice for only five even strength goals against; only two Caps appearing in more than five games have been on ice for fewer (T.J. Oshie: three in nine games, and Marcus Johansson: 1 in 11 games).  He is second on the team in hits per 60 minutes (19.62), second among forwards in blocked shots per game (4.56; minimum: five games), and he is averaging 1:41 in shorthanded ice time per game.  And among the 11 forwards appearing more than five games, only Oshie and Aliaksei Protas have been on ice for fewer shot attempts against at 5-on-5.  Numbers in categories that do not often show up in game stories.  In seven career games against Detroit, Hathaway is 1-1-2, plus-2.

In the end…

Losing a game is not a problem, losing streaks are.  And while the Caps earned points in each of their last two games, which ended in losses, they would like to keep “two” from becoming “three.”  Perhaps the day off after the overtime loss to Vegas recharged the batteries.  Given that the Red Wings might be in a foul mood to dim the memory of the 8-3 loss to Buffalo, a fully-charged battery might be necessary for the Caps to pull out a win.

Capitals 5 – Red Wings 2

 

A ONE Point Night: Washington Capitals -- Game 11: Golden Knights 3 - Capitals 2 (OT)

The Washington Capitals, fresh off a 2-1-1 road trip, returned home on Tuesday night to face the Vegas Golden Knights, who brought a four-game winning streak to Washington in the first of a five-game road trip of their own.  The Caps twice took a one-goal lead, but they wilted in the third period, allowing a late game-tying goal, then lost in overtime to the visitors, 3-2.

First Period…

Vegas had good chances early, but they went down a man when Brett Howden was sent off for slashing at 3:01 of the period.  The Caps made good on the opportunity, Marcus Johansson one-timed a pass by Dylan Strome from below the goal line, the puck deflecting off the stick of Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez and over the left pad of goalie Logan Thompson at the 3:39 mark.

Vegas dominated territory and possession thereafter, and then they got their first power play of the evening when Reilly Smith took a lofted pass behind the Caps’ defense and broke in on goalie Charlie Lindgren.  Smith ran out of room though and tried to control the puck as he approached the end boards, but a fast-closing Martin Fehervary ran over Smith from behind, sending Smith flying into the boards.  After a review by officials as to whether the ensuring penalty would be a two or a five-minute penalty, Fehervary went to the box with a two minute penalty for boarding at 16:17 of the period.  Coincidentally, Jonathan Marchessault was sent off for roughing to put the teams at 4-on-4 for two minutes.

The 4-on-4 expired, but Vegas went to a power play at 18:22 when Erik Gustafsson was penalized for holding.  Jack Eichel converted the power play when he circled through the right-wing circle and snapped a shot past Lindgren on the short side to make it 1-1, 18:55 into the period.  That would be how the period ended.

-- Vegas out-shot the Caps, 12-6, and out-attempted them, 23-17.

-- No Capital had more than one shot on goal in the period; Conor Sheary had three shot attempts.

-- The Caps out-hit the Golden Knights, 17-10, Alex Ovechkin and Garnet Hathaway with four apiece to lead the team.

-- Washington was charged with just one giveaway in the period (Marcus Johansson).

-- Erik Gustafsson led the team in ice time with 8:10; Beck Malenstyn had 3:42 but left the game after blocking a Nicolas Hague shot in the 13^th minute of the period.  He did not return in the period.

Second period…

The Caps wasted no time retaking the lead.  Barely a minute into the period, Trevor van Riemsdyk circled around the left-wing faceoff circle and wristed a laser that beat Thompson low to the glove side to make it 1-2, Caps, just 1:01 into the period.

The Caps followed up the goal by doing a much better job of limiting Vegas chances to establish flow or momentum than they did in the first period.  The Caps played a disciplined, focused game that looked like the sort one would see more of in a road game, and it was good enough to allow them to carry the 2-1 lead to the second intermission.

-- Washington out-shot Vegas, 11-9, in the period and out-attempted them, 25-17.

-- Conor Sheary led the Caps with three shots on goal through 40 minutes; his eight shot attempts also led the team.

-- The Caps had a 22-18 edge on faceoffs through two periods; Evgeny Kuznetsov was 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) to lead the team.

Third period…

The Caps went shorthanded in the second minute of the period when van Riemsdyk was whistled for tripping.  The Vegas power play lasted just 50 seconds when the Alex Pietrangelo was given the gate for holding.  The Caps went on an abbreviate power play when the 4-on-4 expired, and Alex Ovechkin had three good looks late in the power play, but no sale.  The score remained 2-1, Caps.

The Caps seemed content to get the puck our of danger and make the Golden Knights chase it down, and the lack of offensive pressure cost them.  William Carrier took a pass from William Karlsson as he was steaming into the offensive zone, and he fired a shot that ticked off the shaft of van Riemsdyk over the glove of Lindgren, and the game was tied, 2-2, 14:04 into the period.

The Caps skated the last five minutes desperately trying to hang on to force overtime, but they had a chance late.  Lars Eller and Garnet Hathaway buzzed the net, Eller tried to get off a shot that ended up rattling around at the top of the crease, but Garnet Hathaway was quick to poke the rebound into the net.  The trouble was that he did so just after the game clock went to zero, and the goal did not count.  The teams went to overtime.

Overtime…

Vegas won it when Jack Eichel put the puck on a string, maneuvered through the defense, and fed Shae Theodore, who snuck behind Alex Ovechkin, to chip a shot past Lindgren’s blocker for the game winner, 3-2.

Other stuff…

-- Vegas out-shot the Caps, 30-21, and out-attempted them, 63-54.

-- Conor Sheary and Dmitry Orlov led the team with three shots apiece; Sheary had nine shot attempts.

-- Alex Ovechkin shot in a bit of bad luck – eight shots attempts, one on goal (five blocked, two misses).

-- Lars Eller and Beck Malenstyn did not have a shot attempt, but Malenstyn missed the last two and a half periods with an injury.

-- Both teams were credited with 27 hits; Garnet Hathaway had eight for the Caps.

-- The Caps had a 33-25 edge in faceoff wins; three Caps were over 50 percent – Evgeny Kuznetsov (7-for-11/63.6 percent), Nic Dowd (10-for-16/62/5 percent), and Dylan Strome (10-for-18/55.6 percent).

-- Fourteen Capitals were credited with at least one blocked shot; four Caps had three – Nick Jensen, Nic Dowd, Matt Irwin, and Erik Gustafsson.

-- Dmitry Orlov led the team with 24:50 in ice time; other than Malenstyn, whose night was limited to 3:42 to injury, Aliaksei Protas had 10:43 in ice time.

-- The loss ended a three-game winning streak at home for the Caps, but the overtime extended their home points streak to four games.

-- Charlie Lindgren stopped 27 of 30 shots in his first home game as a Capital.  It was the third time in three games overall he allowed three goals.

In the end…

While the results in the back-to-back were the same, an extra time loss, this one felt more as if it was given away.  Sure, the Caps were likely fatigued from a second straight night of hockey and their third game in four nights, but they probably went to far back into a shell in the third period, especially in the last ten minutes.  Vegas is too good a team to let them control the puck and get looks in the offensive zone.  But it is a standings point banked nonetheless, and now the Caps will look to end their second two-game losing streak of the season when they visit Detroit on Thursday night.