Plus: Coach Carbery’s method of choosing a starting goalie on a “game by game” basis worked out tonight, because going with the hot hand and starting Charlie Lindgren in net was clearly the way to go. Lindgren made several incredible saves to keep the Washington Capitals in the game, so many that tonight’s highlight reel could feature just Chuck. He looks confident as ever in the crease, which bodes well for the team as a whole.
Minus: Tom Wilson got called for goalie interference less than a minute into the third period, putting the Caps on the penalty kill while trying to protect a 3-2 lead. Wilson was clearly unhappy with the call, telling the referee he was pushed into Scott Wedgewood, but off to the box he went. Unfortunately for Wilson and the Caps, the Stars were able to tie the game on a very strange goal and turn the momentum in their favor.
Key Moment: Evgeny Kuznetsov’s 700th NHL game was delayed because he was a healthy scratch on Monday night, so the hope was that he would come out swinging tonight. Thankfully, for Kuzy most of all, he did. He scored on a beautiful breakaway goal in the second period—it was as if he decided to make Scott Wedgewood look as foolish as possible with his moves in front of the net.
The goal, which was perfectly orchestrated by Matthew Phillips and Aliaksei Protas, was Kuznetsov’s fifth of the season and his first one on home ice. Kuzy needed to make some sort of statement in his return to the lineup, both for his sake and the coaching staff’s, and man did he.
Caps Player of the Game: Charlie Lindgren made a case for himself, as he has been doing pretty frequently as of late, but tonight has to go to Kuznetsov.
Final Thoughts: The Capitals were coming off a brutal loss to the Coyotes on Monday night looking for a win on home ice to try and reset the vibes. They struggled to hold onto the lead, particularly in the third period when they were outshot 13-6. Fortunately, going to overtime and then the shootout means they walked away with at least one point. Unfortunately, going to overtime and a shootout means…overtime and a shootout. Gotta love a skills competition to decide a game, right?
Up next for the Washington Capitals: a meeting with the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena this Saturday 12/9 at 7pm ET.