Coming into Detroit last night, the Capitals were badly in need of a win, having dropped six straight games amid an increasingly cluttered field for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Caps hit the ice against a Red Wings team that sat one point ahead of them in the standings – and thanks to some timely scoring and a masterful performance in net by Charlie Lindgren, left Motown with the second Wild Card spot back in hand.
Four Takeaways:
- Screw you, Patrick Kane. Just forever and ever.
- Despite the lopsided shot total, the Caps actually did not get horribly outclassed in the underlying numbers. It may not have been a pretty game and they certainly didn’t dominate offensively but they finished the night 28-31 in scoring chances at five-on-five and 7-10 in high-danger chances. For as great as Lindgren was (and he WAS great), his team did a not-horrible job of keeping lanes clear in front of him.
- The other night, we took exception to some shoddy officiating, and rightfully so. Tonight, it was (overall) much better, but the Capitals definitely got away with a high stick by Nicolas Aube-Kubel that could have been really costly for the Caps – and was costly for Andrew Copp, who left the game with what later was revealed to be a broken cheekbone. Surprising that there was no penalty, and no review, on what was a pivotal non-call. (Although to appease the hockey gods, T.J. Oshie proceeded to take, and be called for, a high-sticking minor just a little while later so…we’re good, right?)
- Shoutout to John Carlson, who had himself a game when his team needed him to do so. With Rasmus Sandin out, Carlson carried a heavy workload (for a change) skating close to 30 minutes – almost 11:30 in the third period alone – and looking good in the process:
They Said It: