Vegas Golden Knights (1-2-0 2pts) v, Washington Capitals (1-0-1 3pts)
Lineups:
Jonathan Marchessault — William Karlsson — Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty — Erik Haula — Tomas Nosek
Ryan Carpenter — Cody Eakin — Oscar Lindberg
William Carrier — Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — Ryan Reaves
Shea Theodore — Deryk Engelland
Brayden McNabb — Colin Miller
Jon Merrill — Nick Holden
Marc-Andre Fleury
Malcolm Subban
Scratched: Jake Bischoff, Brad Hunt
Injured: Paul Stastny (lower body), Alex Tuch (lower body)
Suspended: Nate Schmidt
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Brett Connolly
Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Chandler Stephenson
Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny — John Carlson
Brooks Orpik — Christian Djoos
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Madison Bowey, Nathan Walker
Injured: Travis Boyd (lower body)
Suspended: Tom Wilson
First Period:
Capitals Penalty – 8:40 – Brett Connolly 2 minutes for Tripping
Golden Knights Penalty – 11:13 – Ryan Carpenter 2 minutes for Hooking
Golden Knights Penalty – 18:04 – Tomas Nosek 2 minutes for Holding
Capitals PPG – 19:25 – Evegny Kuznetsov (3) from Nicklas Backstrom (5) and John Carlson (3)
End of 1st – VGK – 0 WAS – 1
Shots 4 9
Faceoffs 7 11
Hits 11 4
PP 0/1 1/2
Analysis:
This was a good fast paced first period for the Capitals. They were making slick passes and made great breakouts out of their zone. They played with great hustle and they drew two penalties late in the period, which the second one resulted in a power play goal. Jakub Vrana definitely had a great first period, but I’d like to see him keep that consistent throughout the night.
Need to Do:
The Caps need to keep pressing on the Golden Knights and make them uncomfortable in their own zone. Also despite scoring on their second power play opportunity, the Caps need to be better with their possession on the powerplay.
Second Period:
Capitals Goal – 10:18 – Alex Ovechkin (3) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (2) and Brett Connolly (2)
Golden Knights Goal – 10:49 – Cody Eakin (1) from unassisted
Capitals Penalty – 11:20 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Interference
End of 2nd – VGK – 1 WAS – 2
Shots 20 17
Faceoffs 24 21
Hits 16 22
PP 0/2 1/2
Analysis:
This was a better period for the Golden Knights than it was for the Capitals. Vegas doubled up the Capitals on shots 16-8 in the 2nd period and won 17 faceoffs to the Capitals 10 in the period too.Penalty Kill has been a highlight for the Capitals in this game when they have been needed.
Need to Do:
The Capitals need to get back to playing the way they were in the first period. Vegas out shot the Capitals, and were better in the faceoff circle. The Capitals need to get back that hustle and continue to outwork the Golden Knights.
Third Period:
Golden Knights Penalty – :20 – Colin Miller 2 minutes for Slashing
Golden Knights Penalty – 4:07 – Erik Haula 2 minutes for Tripping
Capitals PPG – 5:08 – Nicklas Backstrom (1) from Evegny Kuznetsov (3) and John Carlson (4)
Golden Knights Goal – 7:08 – Reilly Smith (1) from Nick Holden (1) and William Karlsson (3)
Capitals Penalty – 8:11 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Hooking
Capitals Goal – 10:33 – Alex Ovechkin (4) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (4) and Brett Connolly (3)
Golden Knights Goal – 13:49 – waived after Coach’s Challenge for Offside
Capitals ENG – 18:05 – TJ Oshie (4) from Matt Niskanen (2) and Dmitry Orlov (1)
End of 3rd – VGK – 2 WAS – 5
Shots 31 29
Faceoffs 38 36
Hits 19 31
PP 0/3 2/4
Analysis:
This was a good solid game for the Capitals. Not the best second period, but the Capitals overcame and out played the Golden Knights in the third period to solidify the victory. Also great game by Brooks Orpik who left late in the first period and returned early in the second period. He played with a lot of snarl when he returned to the game. Jakub Vrana showed some very good hustle, and generated some good scoring chances, and Dmitrij Jaskin in his Capitals debut was not that bad. You can tell Jaskin was getting his legs under him in this game, but as the game progressed, Jaskin got better.
Next Up:
Washington (2-0-1 5pts) at New Jersey (1-0-0 2pts)
Vegas (1-3-0 2pts) at Pittsburgh (1-1-0 2pts)
You can watch TXHT Live this Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.
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