Between Two Posts: Diving Deeper Into The Capitals' Shootout Loss to Wild & A Farewell To Fleury

The Capitals are 0-0-1 since Ovechkin shaved his beard.

Thursday was certainly a wild game, amirite? (holds for applause) Although Alex Ovechkin got on the board to move closer to history, it wasn't all great for the Washington Capitals, who fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Minnesota Wild.

I'll try my best to withhold my opinions on the shootout (but don't count on it). It was a game that was certainly winnable for Washington, but alas, the Capitals could only come out with one point at the end of the night.

Let's break this one down a bit.

Charlie Lindgren came out looking relatively solid last night.

The first shot of the game marked a stretched-out glove save for Lindgren that certainly made some highlight reels this morning.

The 31-year-old netminder continued to look good throughout the period, his only goal against up to a point being on a last-second deflection. Then, that turnover happened, as he went to play the puck and ended up giving it to Yakov Trenin for a shorthanded goal.

This isn't Lindgren's first puck-playing mishap this season, but he was able to bounce back with some big saves as the Capitals rallied around him. Unfortunately, he'd come out of this one with a loss after allowing a Matt Boldy shootout goal.

Overall, it was a bit of an odd night for Lindgren, who stopped 30 of 33 shots through regulation and overtime.

The defense had an odd night, too. Despite contributing to the score sheet a couple of times, they also left Lindgren out to dry a few too many times. Minnesota quadrupled Washington's high-danger scoring chances, 16-4.

In his postgame press conference, coach Spencer Carbery acknowledged the "weird mistakes" the team was making and the need to clean them up going forward.

These "weird mistakes" have become a bit more common for the Capitals recently, and hopefully are something that Carbery and the coaching staff are able to address sooner than later.

If you've played or watched hockey long enough, you know how important the shift after a goal is scored can be.

For the scoring team, coming back out strong can keep the momentum going in your favor. But for the other team, punching back means you can steal back that momentum and swing the course of the game in your favor.

Minnesota played the role of spoiler on two occasions Thursday.

Just over a minute after a game-opening goal from Tom Wilson, Minnesota followed right up with a deflection from Ryan Hartman to even the score.

Then, in the third period, shortly after an insurance goal from Wilson was waved off due to a high stick, Marco Rossi sped into the offensive zone and put home his own rebound to even the score at 3 and ultimately force overtime.

All it comes down to is keeping the foot on the gas after a goal. Carbery later acknowledged the importance of controlling those big moments, and it's become a recent habit the Capitals will want to break.

Minnesota has been playing solid hockey all season and this game showed us that a Wild vs. Capitals Stanley Cup Final could be some fun hockey to watch, if nothing else. This was a night full of big saves and weird goals.

And, while Washington got three goals on the board, the 5-on-5 offense continues to falter for D.C. — with the exception of the red hot second line of Tom Wilson, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Aliaksei Protas.

Bubble Boy Wilson kicked off the scoring after inadvertently blocking a point shot from Rasmus Sandin and putting home the rebound.

Wilson would put another one in later in the third, but his stick was above the crossbar when he batted it in.

In the second period, Alex Ovechkin got one step closer to the record, scoring off a blue line snapshot that found its way past Marc-Andre Fleury, though it seemed he was looking for a deflection on that play. We'll happily take No. 871, even if Fleury refused to give him another.

Dubois' line would work magic again later on, as the Quebec native set up Martin Fehervary for a goal after Fleury was knocked down by his own defender.

After a fun but scoreless 3-on-3 overtime period, the Capitals put up a goose egg in the shootoout and Matt Boldy's goal in the second round would hold up as the winner of the game.

While the Capitals want to find more of a spark on offense, this ultimately was a fairly evenly matched game on the offensive side of the puck. Shots were nearly equal (33-31 in favor of Minnesota), as were the Corsi ratings (52-48 percent in favor of D.C.). It made sense that this game would need extra hockey to decide it. It's just unfortunate that it was a shootout. 

As I mentioned earlier, this was an odd game. Weird goals by both teams and great saves by both goalies. And sometimes, both teams deserve to win. It is the primary reason why I despise the shootout. Both teams can play well, and leaving it up to a round of breakaways to decide it feels cheap and hollow.

I grew up a Flyers fan, and (like Capitals fans) spent a long time watching my preferred team get shut down by the man they call Flower. I'm going to take an opportunity to make a Marc-Andre Fleury appreciation post since it is likely the last (only) time I'll get to do so.

Sammi wrote an awesome breakdown of the rivalry between Fleury and Ovechkin that likely came to an end last night, as it is expected Flower will retire at the end of this season. Fleury and Ovechkin have faced each other numerous times over the years, including some memorable playoff performances by both future Hall-of-Famers.

Marc-Andre Fleury has been well-known for his charisma and personality, both on and off the ice. He has also been known for being an all-around good guy, and regardless of whichever team you devote your rabid fandom to, you cannot help but cheer for Fleury. Even Ovechkin had to tip his cap to Fleury by the end of the night.

If this truly is his last season, I hope he goes out in style and with some measure of success. He will be missed.

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The Capitals have another lunchtime tilt tomorrow, this time against the New York Rangers at noon.

Washington came away from an early season match against the Rangers by a 5-3 score, in a game where Alex Ovechkin tallied two goals.

Since that game, the Rangers have been in a freefall, going 3-7 in their last 10 games. They have also traded away captain Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko since their last meeting.

Even still, New York has plenty of star power in Artemi Panerin and Chris Kreider that the Capitals will need to keep in check. The Rangers are coming off a strong win over the Boston Bruins, and ultimately, this is a team that the Capitals will need to not brush off despite recent events.

But there's no reason why a locked-in team in front of (presumably) Logan Thompson can't shut down this New York team.