Comments / New

McMichael, Vrana, Caps Showing You How It’s Done

Nov 15, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Washington Capitals center Connor McMichael (24) celebrates his goal with right wing Tom Wilson (43) in the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The other day we noted in the Mailbag how the Caps are creating more/better scoring chances:

Since, there have been two great examples of what we talked about, so we thought we’d highlight them here. First, Connor McMichael’s first goal against the Avs:

We could show the video, but NHL.com’s “Goal Visualizer” is perfect here to see the off-puck movement. Watch how once Tom Wilson (43) goes behind the net, McMichael (covering the point for Trevor van Riemsdyk (57)) fills the open high slot. The Avs’ defense has collapsed on Pierre-Luc Dubois (80), so Wilson finds McMike (24) for the one-timer. Goal.

Next up, we’ve got Jakub Vrana’s goal against Vegas. Rasmus Sandin (38) does a great job to carry the puck into the zone then get it deep where Aliaksei Protas can beat his man, come out from behind the goal and feed Vrana (13) making a similar run to McMike’s in that last clip. Lethal snap shot. Goal.

Of note, on both goals, the goal-scorer is responsibly covering the point and then cutting once the Caps defender is more or less back in position, so neither of these is really exposing the Caps to much danger. Pressure, cover, balance, everyone on the same page. You just love to see it.

Talking Points