Last night’s win in Toronto was the definition of a team effort, with contributions throughout the forward lines, the defense, special teams, and goaltending – and the Caps definitely needed an all-hands effort to get those two points on a night when the rust from the holiday break was evident.
That said, there’s a chance they don’t get this win if it weren’t for some heroics from Logan Thompson, who, like Charlie Lindgren, has come up big for his team of late when they haven’t been at their best.
There were plenty of great saves throughout the game, including this wild one he made with the Leafs on the power play in the third, when the puck flipped up in the air and almost fell behind him…
…but the save of the game came much earlier in this one, with the Caps up 2-1, just under six minutes remaining in the first period. The Leafs had hemmed the Caps in their own zone for about 10 seconds before the puck came out to the blue line, where it was batted back in at the last second by a Toronto defender. He sent a pass up toward the net, where it ended up on the stick of the one guy in blue that you definitely did not want to have the puck, especially within a few feet of your net with no one between him and the goalie.
That would be one William Nylander, who had this glorious chance robbed by the glove hand of Logan Thompson:
Logan Thompson robbed Nylander SBA had the goal lights on and everything
— Omar (@tictactomar.bsky.social) December 28, 2024 at 7:43 PM
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Nylander was a menace all night long, as is his way these days, and in fact he was robbed again on a breakaway later in the period so…rough night for lil’ Nyls, which means a good night for the Caps.
All in all, not the worst game they’ve played, and a good one to shake off the cobwebs from that little break. They’ll get right back to work this evening against the Red Wings, where they’ll look to keep things rolling before wrapping up 2024 back at home on Tuesday against the Bruins.