It wasn’t pretty, but the ugly wins still count and the Washington Capitals will take it.
On Monday, the Ottawa Senators came to town and certainly put up a fight, coming back from a three-goal deficit and eventually forcing overtime. The Capitals prevailed in the ensuing shootout, though, largely thanks to Logan Thompson.
It was a game that shouldn’t have gone to OT in the first place, but Ottawa is a team fighting for its playoff lives right now, so the battle wasn’t a surprise. What was a surprise was Washington allowing the Senators back into the game twice after coming out to start with a lot of spark.
Let’s dive into the takeaways.
A Better Start Begets a Mediocre Finish
I’ll just come out with my biggest takeaway so as to not bury the lead; I’m glad Washington was able to overcome the slow starts.
The Capitals came out in this game with fire and it showed. Instead of undisciplined calls and slow skating, they set the tone and got on the board early with a Connor McMichael goal. Pierre-Luc Dubois added another less than two minutes after that — again with McMichael chipping in – and Washington proceeded to control the play for most of the opening 20. It was the kind of start they desperately needed, and kudos to them for coming out with purpose.
What concerns me is the slow-bleed that the rest of the game became. Not to take anything away from Ottawa- the Senators are a good team, hungry and still maturing. They are also fighting hard for a playoff spot that they relinquished a couple weeks ago to Tampa. So the comeback effort was entirely expected, and the Capitals should have locked things down better.
As you can see above, a game that was very much in hand for Washington slowly slipped away as it went along. The Capitals finished the first period with a 54.17 percent Corsi-for, but then managed a 38 percent CF in the second period, 41.3 percent CF in the third, and 41.67 percent CF in OT (largely due to a too many men penalty they took).
By no means did Ottawa dominate the game after the first period, but they controlled long enough stretches to build momentum, while also preventing the Capitals from building up any of their own.
This is also where the undisciplined play started to show, because Washington definitely took some inopportune penalties that let the Senators back into the game. Their second goal courtesy of Claude Giroux came on a power play that trickled over into the third, and Brady Tkachuk tied the game with just over a minute left in regulation thanks to another PP at 6-on-4. And even if these penalties don’t immediately lead to goals for the opposition, they certainly only work against the Capitals’ ability to take back control or build momentum.
The slow starts of late were only a symptom of a larger issue the Capitals have struggled with since roughly the start of the new year, which is playing a complete 60-minute effort. And what makes it even more frustrating to watch is they have shown plenty of times that they are better than that, especially through the first part of the season. But it is a trend that needs to be addressed.
Offensive Depth Comes Through
The goal scoring got back into gear after a couple tough games, and what makes it better is how much the depth players contributed to the game.
McMichael, Dubois and Tom Wilson — who completed the Gordie Howe hat trick – scored three of the team’s four goals in regulation and OT, but Martin Fehrevary also quietly had himself a game.
The Slovak blueliner seemed to be buzzing quite a bit last night, making plays and getting shots on Senators’ goalie Linus Ullmark, and eventually, he scored a nice one-timer off a Wilson pass that gave the Capitals back their lead in the third period while playing the role of a difference maker all night long.
Also, credit to Thompson, who played a great game in his own right. I wouldn’t pin any of Ottawa’s on him; each of those goals were a product of the Senators’ offense working hard for their chances and loose pucks. LT also made three big big saves in the shootout to secure the win for D.C.
Sadly, Alex Ovechkin was held scoreless, but he had no shortage of chances.
On the Road Again
No rest for the weary, as Washington moves on to a road tilt at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
The Rangers are a weird team this season (a statement I’m pretty sure I made when they played in their only other two meetings so far), as a team that should be better on paper has struggled mightily at points to both generate sustained offense and keep pucks out of the net.
Ultimately, the Capitals took advantage of this in both of their previous meetings, winning 5-3 in October and 7-4 in January. New York is playing somewhat better hockey lately, going 7-3 in its last 10. But this is another game that Washington can win with a complete game and solid forechecking.