The easy answer to the question “how did the Capitals lose last night’s game?” is simply “the shootout stinks and should be fired into the sun”…but it’s not really that simple, and the Caps did put up a decent fight in the shootout before giving up the winner to Nick Foligno (also, really??).
So let’s talk about what got them to the shootout in the first place, because this was a game that seemed so out of reach despite being a one-goal game for most of the night. Getting that singular point out of an otherwise lackluster performance was a big deal – and they managed that thanks to Ryan Leonard.
Since returning from injury right before Christmas, Leonard had been stuck in a six-game goalless drought, although he did have four assists over that span and hasn’t exactly been invisible out there. That continued last night, as he had the highest game score of any Cap:
His hard work paid off in this one and got the Caps a crucial standings point thanks to a timely goal in the third period.
With a little less than nine minutes remaining in regulation and the Caps trailing by a goal, the home team set up shop in the attack zone – and Leonard set up shop right in front of the goalie, where he began to duke it out with Chicago defender Matt Grzelcyk for positioning (and probably for fun, as well). That’s where he was when Matt Roy fired the puck in from the point, a shot that was saved by Spencer Knight. As the puck bounced off of Knight, however, Leonard swung his stick out and batted it over the goalie’s arm and into the net.
Was it the prettiest goal? Perhaps not, although the hand-eye coordination was stellar and the positioning exactly what you want to see out of the kid. But it was a super important goal for the team, making it a tie game which the Caps were thankfully able to hang on to through the end of regulation before eventually being taken down by the blasted shootout.
Next up, another Western Conference opponent awaits as the Ducks are in town – including Jacob Trouba, who was the very reason why Leonard missed so many games in December.