On a night where the Capitals needed a win to put themselves in the final Wild Card spot, leaping over the Detroit Red Wings, they did the exact opposite, squandering one of their games in hand in the process.
The game started off poorly, with the Maple Leafs scoring on the first shot of the game from Auston Matthews. The rest of the period, though, the Capitals looked strong, pushing hard and creating chances as they tried to even up the game, just not being able to get one past Joseph Woll in the opening 20.
Unfortunately the second period started much the same as the first, this time with William Nylander putting the Leafs on the board within the first minute of the period. The Capitals again fought back, though, as Alex Ovechkin netted a power play goal and Connor McMichael was able to bounce a goal in off of Woll’s back. The high-to-low play would again catch the Capitals as Jack McCabe got a deflection goal in traffic in the last minute of play.
The third period didn’t see an immediate goal from the Leafs, and Ovechkin scored his second goal of the game from a wait-it-out play from Dylan Strome…but that was the last time the game was close, as Toronto scored three more goals for a 7-3 finish.
Three Takeaways:
- It seemed like the team really missed T.J. Oshie and Aliaksei Protas, especially in a game where the Capitals certainly could have used Oshie’s scoring touch and Protas…well, not being Nicolas Aube-Kubel. Nic Dowd was supposed to be the matchup against Matthews, but giving up the first goal on the first shot doesn’t look good for your defensive shut down line.
- It was not a good night for Charlie Lindgren, as the netminder posted just a .759 SV % and gave up seven goals on 29 shots. Not all of that is on him, of course – the team certainly did not help him out, particularly in the opening of the first and second period. But the team needed some big saves from him tonight and, for the first time in a while, he couldn’t deliver.
- O Captain my Captain. Alex Ovechkin’s second two-goal game in as many games gives him 23 goals on the season, on pace to hit 30 (again), which would be his 18th 30+ goal season.
They said it: “As soon as we get closer to them, they find a way to get another two goal lead.”