The Caps have been riding high these days, but arguably the toughest opponent they’ve had to face in a while skated into town last night – the Vegas Golden Knights, who first made a stop to visit the White House and celebrate their Stanley Cup win on Monday before heading to Capital One Arena for a date with the Caps last night. It was one of those cliche “measuring stick” games – and the Caps were up for the challenge.
…for the most part. And with a lot of help from their mustachioed netminder.
For a long time, their hopes of a win hinged on a late first-period goal by Dylan Strome, marking the fifth-consecutive game in which the Caps scored first (after having done so just once in their first nine games). Strome’s tally, the product of a reunited second line with Matthew Phillips and Sonny Milano, would be the only offense for the majority of the game – this despite a five-minute power play in which the Caps once again came up empty (and saw their power play drop to a league-worst 7.3%). The 1-0 score would hold until a McMichael-McNugget Minute goal, followed by Beck Malenstyn’s second of the season, put the game out of reach.
But the real story in this game was Charlie Lindgren, who turned aside all 35 shots faced to earn his first shutout as a Washington Capital. Just an incredible performance by the team’s “backup”, as he continues to have a strong start to his season.
Three Takeaways
- Seriously, what was up with that five minute power play? Only four shots on net, less than half the time spent in the offensive zone…not good, and not just because they were unlucky. The power play in general continues to be a rough subject.
- Things that are delightful: scoring an empty-net goal, having the opposing coach put his goalie back in, and then scoring on said goalie. Especially fun when it’s a beauty like this one:
- Every night should be Caps Canines Night.