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The Capitals welcomed the Sharks to Verizon tonight, and the Sharks thanked them by handing Washington a 3-0 loss, it’s first in six games.
Here’s Election Night’s Plus/Minus:
Plus: The new line of Burakovsky-Eller-Wilson looked great, and we all got to see Joel Ward’s beautiful smiling face one more time.
Minus: A 3-0 shutout loss. Duh. Also the Floating Toyota went out of control and crashed into the stands before the game.
And now, this…
BREAKING: THE FLOATING TOYOTA IS OUT OF CONTROL AND IN THE CROWD!!!! pic.twitter.com/Zno9b585Qt
— Jason Rogers (@HeyJayJRogers) November 8, 2016
And this…
Slapshot has a Secret Service detail tonight. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T VOTE. pic.twitter.com/oTdh4XURVJ
— Jason Rogers (@HeyJayJRogers) November 9, 2016
Ten more notes on the game:
1 Midway though the first period, human old-timey lead cannonball Alex Ovechkin stuck his substantial shoulder into the sternum of Joe Thornton, rocking him on his skates. Brent Burns then promptly laid out Ovechkin in a manner we’re not used to watching Ovi receive. He got properly El Kabong’d.
Minha reação quando o Burns derrubou o Ovechkin com um hit pic.twitter.com/kMmbBhn6zP
— Capitals Brasil (@WCapitalsBR) November 9, 2016
Burns hit Ovechkin hard enough that his necklace came out from under his jersey.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) November 9, 2016
2 The first period ended scoreles, and the second period continued that way until past its mid-point, when your-favorite-pickle-and-mine Pierre-Edouard Vlasic fired a slapper from the point that ricocheted off the substantial rump of Karl Alzner and past Braden Holtby for the Sharks goal. At first the goal was credited to Joel Ward, and people were like, “Oh, okay! That’s not so bad.” But then they were like, “Oh, crap.”
Vlasic goal pic.twitter.com/G0LyVIfv9G
— Stephanie (@myregularface) November 9, 2016
3 Then, with just over two minutes remaining in the second frame, stranded-thru-hiker-awaiting-rescue Brent Burns, more follicle than fellow, walked quite serenely into the circle and ripped a wrister past Holtby to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead. Holtby was quite unhelpfully screened by Brooks Orpik, but people in Hell want ice water.
Burns goal pic.twitter.com/JHKdD9Vq1L
— Stephanie (@myregularface) November 9, 2016
4 Jumbo Joe Thornton potted the empty-netter with 90 seconds to go, and that was all she wrote, folks. The Sharks downed the Capitals 3-0.
5 Joel Ward returned to Washington tonight, and he got plenty of love from the fans, even garnering applause when he took Joe Thornton’s place in the face-off dot after Jumbo was excused on one draw. In the first period, Ward drove a crashing Ovechkin safely into the net, then gave him a little love tap on the tuchus before letting Ovi go.
Joel Ward gently smooshing Ovechkin into the net, then patting him on the butt before departing.#JustBFFThings
— Jason Rogers (@HeyJayJRogers) November 9, 2016
6 The Caps continue to struggle against the Sharks, one of only two teams to sweep Washington last year. Something something eagles versus sharks, something something Planet Earth, something something food chain.
7 The Burakovsky – Eller – Wilson line, a new experient of Trotz’s since the Florida game on Saturday, was one of the brightest spots for the Caps, dominating possession and buzzing around the ice even late into the third period. Burakovsky is the obvious scoring muscle on the line, but Eller is quite the good skater, and Wilson was a ball of energy, an express train running from side boards to side boards and between both goal lines.
8 The Ovechkin – Backstrom – Oshie line really struggled tonight, losing the possession battle quite handily to the Sharks’ defensive pairing of Vlasic and Braun. Like, handily in the same way that your fingers and thumb operate handily. All three Caps were in negative double-digits for possession versus Vlasic and Braun.
9 Hey, the Capitals are now 5-1 in their last six games. What’re ya gonna do? Can’t win them all.
10 Wait was there an election tonight?
The Capitals proved tonight that you can’t win them all, just 83% of them. Next up is the Blackhawks in Chicago on Friday.
Game highlights: