The Comeback Caps. The Cardiac Caps. The Can’t-Start-Games-On-Time Caps. Whatever you want to call them, this is our team right now. And it’s…fun. Right?
We’ll go with fun.
Honestly, in a game between a couple of top teams, last night’s outcome was both expected and surprising. The team’s heavy-hitters and supporting cast both came out firing, which is a huge reason why both teams are where they are in the standings – but their Vezina-worthy goalies each absorbed far more goals than usual, each getting lit up for four goals apiece in regulation.
Unfortunately for the Caps, it was their red-hot netminder taking the extra hit in overtime. Here’s how it happened.
First, Mark Scheifele takes the puck into neutral, shadowed effectively by one Tom Wilson, forcing him to pass the puck off to Josh Morrissey along the boards. Morrissey’s shadow is one Connor McMichael, whose shadowing abilities…well, they’re not quite up to 43’s level on this play.
McMichael is unable to stop Morrissey from sending the puck basically around him to Scheifele, who moves behind the net, and then he’s unable to keep Morrissey from immediately going to the front of the net. Scheifele again finds him with an admittedly very nice pass, setting up #44 in white for a largely impeded shot past Logan Thompson:

Not a great moment for McMichael, and you could tell he knew it immediately.
Unfortunately an off night all around for McMichael, but ultimately you win and lose as a team – and the fact that the Caps were even in overtime was both a failing of and success for the team. Much like the last game of a long road trip, the first game home after one can be a tough one for teams, so good on the Caps for finding their game (mostly) as the night went on, clawing back from a two-goal deficit, and snagging yet another point in the standings.
Next up? Another tough task, with the Stanley Cup champs in town Tuesday night.