The Washington Capitals continued their three-game road trip tonight with a stop up north to face the Toronto Maple Leafs. The big news of the day: welcome to the show, Ilya Protas! The 6’6″ forward made his NHL debut tonight after being called up from Hershey on Monday.
Protas slotted into the lineup alongside his brother Aliaksei and Tom Wilson, making the Capitals’ third line absolutely gigantic. The three forwards combine for a whopping 19’4″ and 700lbs. Fun fact that sounds fake: Tom Wilson is the smallest player on that line. That trio has incredible potential, but a win tonight to keep their incredibly slim playoff hopes alive would take the entire Caps’ lineup.
Plus: It finally happened, Logan Thompson got his shutout! He saved all 21 Toronto shots, and some of those saves were incredible moves on Thompson’s part. On another positive note, Ilya Protas recorded his first NHL point with an assist on Cole Hutson’s empty net goal!
Minus: Tell us if you’ve heard this one before: the Caps’ power play had two opportunities to score, but they couldn’t convert. The special teams woes continue, unfortunately.
Caps Player of the Game: As always, and especially tonight, this could go to Logan Thompson. However, tonight’s honor goes to Martin Fehérváry, who recorded his 100th career NHL point after his two points (1G, 1A) in Toronto. It’s a 100 point Marty Party!