For the second-straight game, the Caps took on a Western Conference team that has been wallowing near the bottom of the standings – and for the second-straight game, they took care of business, and did so with a better all-around effort (and one of their better efforts in a little while).
This one was a solid team performance from start to finish, with timely scoring (hallelujah, we’ve got a John Carlson goal that counts) and more stellar netminding from Logan Thompson.
So let’s take a look at the insurance goal late in the second period by the hottest hand in the Caps’ lineup, Ethen Frank, that put the Caps up 3-0.
The play starts with Brandon Duhaime along the boards in the defensive zone, doing battle the way he seemingly always does. He fends off two Ducks attackers to corral the puck and send it up and out of the zone onto the tape of Pierre-Luc Dubois, who is seemingly always in the right place at the right time. Dubois collects the pass and starts the two-on-one rush up ice before sending it across to Frank.
Frank has all the time in the world to pick his spot, and pick it he does, wiring it past John Gibson for his second goal in two games and third point since getting called up:
Early in the game, both assistant coach Mitch Love and John Carlson spoke about wanting to get more pucks on net, protecting the puck and holding onto it more in the offensive zone. They did just that tonight, topping 20 shots on goal for the first time in four games (actually flirting with almost 30) while holding the Ducks to just 18. Logan Thompson took it from there, turning aside all 18 for his – and the Caps – first shutout of the season.
That’s a nice, solid win in what could have been a trap game, and a great way for the Caps to build up some momentum as they head to Ottawa on Thursday…and then prepare for a big rematch against the Pens Saturday night.