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Morning After: Milestone Night but Not Quite Right

The Capitals saw a few players hit career milestones last night, but a game riddled with mistakes cost them the two points against Dallas.

Dec 7, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) passes the puck past Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) during the third period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Capitals really could have used a win last night after Monday’s brutal loss to the Coyotes, but the Dallas Stars decided that was not in the cards. On paper, the Capitals probably should have won last night’s game—even though the Stars are the better team they were on the second half of a back-to-back on the road, and the Caps were on home ice after two days of rest. Alas, Washington was only destined for one point after losing in the shootout last night.

The Capitals’ offense was present at Capital One Arena yesterday, which was a pleasant surprise, but their ability to hold onto a lead was not. The Caps squandered 3-1 and 4-3 leads to the Stars—a poor decision under any circumstances, but a particularly poor decision against a high-powered team like Dallas.

It wasn’t all bad, though. Charlie Lindgren was stellar, a continuing trend that the Caps are grateful for. Dylan Strome’s two-goal performance restored his sole possession of the team lead in goals. Evgeny Kuznetsov was vibing in his 700th career game, skating with renewed energy after being a healthy scratch earlier this week and scoring a beautiful breakaway goal.

Three Takeaways

  • Alex Ovechkin, the world is begging you: stop going to the backhand in the shootout. It clearly isn’t working.
  • Dylan Strome’s 100th career goal was Washington’s sixth (!) power play goal of the season. The team had three power play chances last night, including one in overtime, but only managed to convert the one time. The power play struggles continue for the Capitals.
  • Speaking of Strome’s third period PPG, Ovechkin’s secondary assist on the tally marked his 1,500th career NHL point. He is just the 16th player in league history to hit that milestone, and he is the 12th-fastest player to do so (1,370 career games). He is also just the eighth player to score 1,500 points with one franchise.

They Said It

Talking Points