The Capitals’ final game before the 4 Nations break had all the makings of a trap game that would end badly for the good guys. You’ve got a super-early matinee, against a team low in the standings, from the other conference, right before a lengthy vacation.
So while we could talk about how they ultimately lost, whether that was because they fell behind 2-0 less than two minutes in (LESS THAN TWO MINUTES ugh) or because they continue to struggle in the shootout…that’s not really fun and frankly any game decided by the shootout does not count as a real loss. Because science.
Honestly, though, this was yet another example of this scrappy, resilient team never quitting on a game, erasing multiple deficits, and snagging a point – so let’s talk about how they did that, shall we?
First, we’ll set the scene. As noted above, yes, the Caps were down 2-0 early in the first. A Tom Wilson goal on the power play cut the lead to one before Jack McBain rudely restored the two-goal lead a few minutes later; Pierre-Luc Dubois added another power play goal to make it 3-2 and round out a bit of a wild opening frame. In the second, there was just the one goal by Dylan Guenther early on the power play to once again put the Utahs up by two.
So it’s 4-2 going into the third period and the Capitals once again find themselves needing to claw back to grab a point or two. The comeback party began just under five minutes into that third, when Dylan Strome – he of nerves of steel and hands of silk – got the team’s first even-strength goal of the afternoon to get within one:
This time, instead of letting Utah extend their lead yet again, the Caps did what they’ve been doing quite a bit lately and tied this sucker up. With Logan Thompson on the bench, Alex Ovechkin went to the wall just outside his office, Tom Wilson went to his office (aka right in front of the net), and Ovechkin’s pass found Wilson’s stick for the tap-in goal:
Big day for those two, for Dylan Strome, and for Pierre-Luc Dubois, all of whom had multi-point games in the comeback. And while they ultimately came up short in the shootout (no shootouts in the playoffs, folks, don’t get too worried), it was a nice bounceback from a rough start and a decent note on which to close out this part of the season.
The Caps are off until 2/19, when they return to practice, and their next game will be a few days later against…the Pittsburgh Penguins.