The Caps have been loving taking their fans on a rollercoaster ride lately. They had yet another comeback win on Black Friday, and it was their second straight game being down by two goals and coming back to get the win. It’s definitely not a game plan you want to strive for every game, but it’s good to know that even when the boys are down, they have a chance to come back and win.
Let’s focus in on the game-tying goal, bringing the score even at 4-4 after the Caps fell behind 4-2 in the middle frame.
The Caps were pressing hard, playing a long shift in the offensive zone that actually almost led to a goal early when Dylan Strome fed the slot to Tom Wilson, but a well-positioned Isaiah George was there to deflect it away. The puck went behind the net and Wilson chased George down, putting pressure on the defender and causing him to cough up the puck.
Noah Dobson was able to recover it, but due to the great back pressure by Dylan Strome, Dobson was forced to try and dump it out. Unfortunately for him, Rasmus Sandin was able to keep it in the zone and quickly passed it off to Strome, who streaked to the left side of ice. That move bought the Caps time and drew in two Islander players to him. That’s important because once he fed it down to Connor McMichael in the left dot, Trevor van Riemsdyk was left wide open going into the slot.
Semyon Varlamov was screened by his own player and could barely see TvR wind up; clearly he thought the Capitals’ defensemen was going to unload, though, so he dropped down into a butterfly. With Varlamov down, van Riemsdyk was then able to feed a wide-open Wilson, who loaded up in Ovechkin’s office and ripped a shot past Varlamov, who wasn’t able to push back to the right quick enough.
That goal is a great example of what the Caps have been doing all season: executing a very strong forecheck, never giving up on the play, and making smart reads, great passes, and shots that don’t miss. And most importantly, it was a goal that showed off more of the Caps’ resilience, as they rebounded from a horrible second period to tie up the game and eventually take the win in overtime.