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Tag: Washington Capitals

  • Game Recap – 2/3/2019 – Boston Bruins v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 2/3/2019 – Boston Bruins v. Washington Capitals

    Boston Bruins (27-17-7 61pts) v. Washington Capitals (28-17-6 62pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    For the first five minutes of the game the Washington Capitals would get their skating legs moving and create some opportunities in the Boston Bruins, but then a questionable hooking call against Dmitrij Jaskin would give the Bruins their first powerplay opportunity. The Capitals would hold the Bruins to one shot as they would kill off the penalty, but then Evgeny Kuznetsov would be called for slashing giving the Bruins another opportunity on the powerplay. The Bruins would generate four solid scoring opportunities, but Braden Holtby would shut the door. The Capitals would gain their first powerplay opportunity when Patrice Bergeron would be called for holding, but the Capitals failed to generate a single scoring opportunity on the powerplay. The Capitals would be held to six shots all period, while Holtby would be stellar stopping all 15 shots faced.

     

    After a very boring first half to the second period, the Capitals would draw another powerplay, but it would be the Bruins who would shut them down, and as the penalty expired the Bruins would force the play in the Capitals zone as Torey Krug would set up David Krejci for the first goal of the game to give the Bruins the first lead of the afternoon. The Capitals would continue to struggle in the second period, but Holtby would stand on his head to keep the game a one goal game going into the intermission.

     

    The third period would be very uneventful, despite a couple good shifts for the Capitals. However, it would not be good enough as the Capitals would fall to the Bruins 1-0 ending their winning streak over the Bruins at 14 games.

     

    Lineups:

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Peter Cehlarik — David Krejci — Jake DeBrusk

    Joakim Nordstrom — Trent Frederic — David Backes

    Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari — Chris Wagner

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Kevan Miller

    Matt Grzelcyk — Brandon Carlo

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: John Moore, Danton Heinen, Zane McIntyre

    Injured: none

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Travis Boyd — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Chandler Stephenson, Madison Bowey

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh), Lars Eller (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 5:30 – Dmitrij Jaskin 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 7:37 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Slashing

    Bruins Penalty – 9:52 – Patrice Bergeron 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 1st – BOS – 0       WAS – 0

    Shots              15                06

    Faceoffs         11                06

    Hits               08                  08

    PP                 0/2                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 8:24 – Kevan Miller 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Bruins Goal – 10:43 – David Krejci (11) from Torey Krug (30) and David Pastrnak (32)

     

    End of 2nd – BOS – 1        WAS – 0

    Shots               30                 13

    Faceoffs          17                 14

    Hits                 16                  28

    PP                   0/2                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 12:30 – Charlie McAvoy 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Penalty – 13:06 TJ Oshie 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 3rd – BOS – 1         WAS – 0

    Shots              38                   24

    Faceoffs        33                    19

    Hits               26                     41

    PP                 0/3                    0/3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (28-18-6 62pts) v. Vancouver (24-22-6 54pts)

    Boston (28-17-7 63pts) v. NY Islanders (30-15-6 66pts)

  • Gameday Preview – 2/3/2019 – Boston Bruins v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 2/3/2019 – Boston Bruins v. Washington Capitals

    Boston Bruins (27-17-7 61pts) v. Washington Capitals (28-17-6 62pts)

     

    Time: 1230p EST

    Station: NBC

     

    Preview:

    The big game is upon us as the Washington Capitals host the Boston Bruins on this Super Sunday tradition. The Capitals look to keep their good vibes going as they come into the second game of their six game home stand having ended their 7 game losing streak the other night against the Calgary Flames, which they did without the services of captain Alex Ovechkin who was serving a one game suspension for missing the All Star Game.

     

    Speaking of Ovechkin, he will be looking to become the NHL’s all time leading Russian point scorer as he will need one point to surpass Hockey Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov (1179 points).

     

    The Bruins will be looking to end their current 3 game losing streak, and 14 game losing streak to the Capitals.

     

    Boston Bruins:

    Projected Lineup:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Peter Cehlarik — David Krejci — Jake DeBrusk

    Joakim Nordstrom — Trent Frederic — David Backes

    Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari — Chris Wagner

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Kevan Miller

    Matt Grzelcyk — Brandon Carlo

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: John Moore, Danton Heinen, Zane McIntyre

    Injured: none

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Force the play

    The Bruins have struggled against the Capitals recently, and one major takeaway is that the Capitals force the play and make the Bruins play their game. The Bruins need to flip the script and force the Capitals to play their game instead and take advantage of a team whose won their first game in the past eight.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Travis Boyd — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Chandler Stephenson, Madison Bowey

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh), Lars Eller (lower body)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Clear out the traffic

    The Capitals need to keep the slot area in front of the net clear so Braden Holtby can see the shots coming, and most importantly prevent the Bruins from being able to tip shots and passes going towards the net. The Calgary Flames scored 2 of their 3 goals with tips/deflections and the Capitals need to play more solid to prevent that.

  • TXHT Podcast – 2/2/2019

    TXHT Podcast – 2/2/2019

    The TXHT podcast is back with Serious Hockey Talk for Serious Hockey Fans!

     

    Audio Version:

     

    YouTube Version:

     

    This week on TXHT, Michael Lindenbaum is joined by TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs writer Steve Gardiner.

     

    Michael and Steve start the episode off talking about the NHL All Star festivities and the impact the women had on the weekend, and also talk about the growing women’s game.

     

    Then Michael and Steve talk about the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs. Plus a little NHL news, along with some NWHL updates, and some chatter about the Calgary Flames and 2019 Stadium Series uniforms.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Saturday, February 2nd, 2019

    Opening Music: “Human Chess” by Crimson Orchid

     

    Have a question you want answered on the show? Ask us! Comment on here or on one of our Social Media outlets, and we’ll answer it.

  • Game Recap – 2/1/2019 – Calgary Flames v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 2/1/2019 – Calgary Flames v. Washington Capitals

    Calgary Flames (33-13-5 71pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-17-6 60pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals came back from the break looking fresh, and would show it early on as they would get the first goal of the game when the Capitals would force the play in the Calgary Flames zone and Nic Dowd would tip in a John Carlson point shot for his fifth of the season. The first period would feature a lot of back and forth between these two teams, but late in the period we would have some fireworks when Mikael Backlund would score on a beautiful individual effort to tie the game at one a piece, but the Capitals would not lay down as they brought the play to the Flames and crashed Mike Smith’s net and Dmitrij Jaskin would knock in the rebound for his second of the season, and give the Capitals the 2-1 lead with less than 45 seconds left in the period.

     

    The Capitals would start the second period on fire as the second line of Tom Wilson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Jakub Vrana would connect for a quick goal on a Wilson wrister less than a minute into the period. Then 83 seconds later, the Flames would get one back as a point shot by TJ Brodie would take a couple deflections and go off of Garnet Hathaway to cut the Capitals lead back to one. The Flames would take back to back penalties to allow the Capitals powerplay an opportunity to get into the game, and while the first powerplay looked good for the Capitals, the second opportunity was not as good. However, the Capitals would get their third straight powerplay opportunity when Mark Giordano would take his second penalty of the period. The Capitals would get some good looks, but once again would not be able to capitalize on the powerplay. In the second period the Capitals out shot the Flames 16 to 7.

     

    The third period would not start in the Capitals favor as Michal Kempny would be called for a penalty 45 seconds into the period, but would kill off that penalty only to take another penalty when Dmitry Orlov would be called for holding. The Capitals would persevere as they would kill off their second straight penalty. However, the Flames would tie the game up when Elias Lindholm would tip in a Johnny Gaudreau point shot. But it would be a late penalty against Backlund for Holding that would result in a powerplay goal by Kuznetsov to win the game for the Capitals and end their 7 game losing streak.

     

    Lineups:

    Calgary Flames:

    Johnny Gaudreau — Sean Monahan — Elias Lindholm

    Sam Bennett — Mark Jankowski — James Neal

    Matthew Tkachuk — Mikael Backlund — Michael Frolik

    Andrew Mangiapane — Derek Ryan — Garnet Hathaway

    Mark Giordano — TJ Brodie

    Noah Hanifin — Travis Hamonic

    Oliver Kylington — Rasmus Andersson

    Mike Smith

    David Rittich

    Scratched: Austin Czarnik, Dalton Prout  

    Injured: Michael Stone (blood clot)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Chandler Stephenson — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Andre Burakovsky – Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Travis Boyd, Madison Bowey

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

    Suspended: Alex Ovechkin

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 3:00 – Nic Dowd (5) from John Carlson (40) and Michal Kempny (12)

    Flames Goal – 17:37 – Mikael Backlund (13) from unassisted

    Capitals Goal – 19:24 – Dmitrij Jaskin (2) from Lars Eller (16) and Brooks Orpik (3)

     

    End of 1st – CAL – 1       WAS – 2

    Shots              13                13

    Faceoffs         13                14

    Hits               08                  19

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Goal – :54 – Tom Wilson (14) from Jakub Vrana (14) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (33)

    Flames Goal – 2:17 – Garnet Hathaway (6) from Derek Ryan (13) and TJ Brodie (20)

    Flames Penalty – 8:29 – Mark Giordano 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Flames Penalty – 13:33 – Garnet Hathaway 2 minutes Tripping

    Flames Penalty – 15:55 – Mark Giordano 2 minutes for Hooking

     

    End of 2nd – CAL – 2        WAS – 3

    Shots               20                 29

    Faceoffs          24                 22

    Hits                 11                  29

    PP                   0/0                  0/3

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Penalty – :45 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Interference

    Capitals Penalty – 8:29 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Holding

    Flames Goal – 12:01 – Elias Lindholm (22) from Johnny Gaudreau (45) and TJ Brodie (21)

    Flames Penalty – 18:02 – Mikael Backlund 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals PPG – 19:03 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (10) from TJ Oshie (14) and Nicklas Backstrom (39)

    Capitals Penalty – 20:00 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Interference

    Capitals Penalty – 20:00 – Brooks Orpik 5 minute major for Fighting

    Flames Penalty – 20:00 – Matthew Tkachuk 5 minute major for Fighting

     

    End of 3rd – CAL – 3         WAS – 4

    Shots              30                   40

    Faceoffs        41                    33

    Hits               14                     34

    PP                 0/2                    1/4

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (28-17-6 62pts) v. Boston (27-17-7 61pts)

    Calgary (33-14-5 71pts) @ Carolina (25-20-6 56pts)

  • Gameday Preview – 2/1/2019 – Calgary Flames v. Washington Capitals

    Gameday Preview – 2/1/2019 – Calgary Flames v. Washington Capitals

    Calgary Flames (33-13-5 71pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-17-6 60pts)

     

    Time: 7p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Washington and Sportsnet West

     

    Preview:

    It’s time to get back to work for the Washington Capitals after having the past week and a half off for the All Star Break and Bye Week. The Capitals return from their break in the midst of a seven game losing streak as they play host to the red hot Calgary Flames.

     

    For the Capitals the break was much needed for the entire team as we all could see that they were fatigued from all of the hockey they have been playing the past 16 months, and with preseason, regular season, and playoffs combined the Capitals have played 170 games, which is a lot of hockey. The Capitals will be the first to admit that they were tired from all of the hockey they have played, and with yesterday’s practice it can be said that the time off came at the right time as the players looked refreshed.

     

    Calgary Flames:

    Projected Lineup:

    Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Elias Lindholm

    Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik

    Sam Bennett – Mark Jankowski – James Neal

    Andrew Mangiapane – Derek Ryan – Garnet Hathaway

    Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie

    Noah Hanifin – Travis Hamonic

    Oliver Kylington – Rasmus Andersson

    Mike Smith

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Test the Capitals

    The Capitals say they are refreshed and ready to go into the playoff push, and the Flames need to go out there and test the Capitals. Calgary needs to force the play and really push the Capitals tonight.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Get a good start

    Despite getting their well needed rest, the Capitals still are on a 7 game losing streak, and will be looking to end it tonight. If the Capitals can get a quick goal and get the Capital One Arena crowd buzzing, this could be the night the Capitals need.

  • TXHT Podcast – 1/26/2019

    TXHT Podcast – 1/26/2019

    The TXHT podcast is back with Serious Hockey Talk for Serious Hockey Fans!

     

    Audio Version:

     

    YouTube Version:

     

    This week on TXHT, Michael Lindenbaum is joined by TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs writer Steve Gardiner.

     

    Michael and Steve take a look at the woes both the Washington Capitals and the Toronto Maple Leafs have been going through leading up the NHL All Star Break. Plus they also discuss some of the woes that have plagued the Edmonton Oilers leading up to their General Manager Peter Chirelli being fired, and lastly some talk about All Star Weekend.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Friday, January 25th, 2019

    Opening Music: “Human Chess” by Crimson Orchid

     

    Have a question you want answered on the show? Ask us! Comment on here or on one of our Social Media outlets, and we’ll answer it.

  • NHL ALL-STAR SKILL COMPETITION

    NHL ALL-STAR SKILL COMPETITION

    Here are your results for the NHL All-Star Game Skill Competition

    Faster Skater

    1. Connor McDavid – 13.378
    2. Jack Eichel – 13.582
    3. Matthew Barzal – 13.780
    4. Miro Heiskanen – 13.914
    5. Elias Petterson – 13.930
    6. Cam Atkinson – 14.152
    7. Kendal Coyne – 14.346
    8. Clayton Keller – 14.526

    Puck Control

    1. Johnny Gaudreau – 27.045
    2. Patrick Kane – 28.611
    3. Claude Giroux – 30.270
    4. Mark Scheifele – 32.161
    5. Gabriel Landeskog – 33.425
    6. John Tavares – 35.210
    7. Jeff Skinner – 35.407
    8. Elias Petterson – 43.632

    Saves Streak

    1. Henrik Lundqvist -12
    2. Andrei Vasilevskiy -8
    3. Devan Dubnyk – 7
    4. Marc-Andre Fleury 6
    5. John Gibson -3
    6. Braden Holtby -2
    7. Jimmy Howard – 2
    8. Pekka Rinne -2

    Premier Passer

    1. Leon Draisaitl – 1:09.088
    2. Sebastian Aho – 1:18.534
    3. Ryan O’Reilly – 1:25.897
    4. Keith Yandle – 1:34.661
    5. Thomas Chabot – 1:40.588
    6. Roman Josi – 1:40
    7. Erik Karlsson – 1:58.824
    8. Mikko Rantanen – 2:15

    Hardest Shot

    1. John Carlson – 102.8
    2. Brent Burns – 100.6
    3. Seth Jones – 99.4
    4. Steven Stamkos 96.2

    Accuracy Shooting:

    1. David Pastrnak – 11.3
    2. Kris Letang – 12.69
    3. Drew Doughty – 13.6
    4. Joe Pavelski – 14.42
    5. Nikita Kucherov – 19.00
    6. Blake Wheeler – 18.6
    7. Auston Matthews -20.16
    8. Kyle Palmieri -20.21
  • Game Recap – 1/23/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Toronto Maple Leafs

    Game Recap – 1/23/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Toronto Maple Leafs

    Washington Capitals (27-16-6 60pts) v. Toronto Maple Leafs (29-17-2 60pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    For the majority of the first period it was a major snoozer until the final couple of minutes when the Capitals got a powerplay when Patrick Marleau would be called for hooking. Nicklas Backstrom would net the powerplay goal to give the Capitals the 1-0 lead, but it would not last long as right away Nazem Kadri would poke the puck past Braden Holtby to tie the game at 1.

    Steve’s Analysis: Leafs had some jump at the beginning of the period but soon began to settle in. Trading shot for shot in one of the most boring periods I’ve seen. Backstrom scored on a Marleau penalty to make it 1-0 but a miscue by Holtby allowed Kadri to tie the game up with 24 seconds remaining.

     

    The second period would have a better start for the Capitals as the TJ Oshie would feed Alex Ovechkin on the rush and Ovechkin would rip it from the top of the faceoff circle past Frederik Andersen to give the Capitals the 2-1 lead. After some more back and forth between the two teams, the Maple Leafs would capitalize after a great defensive play by William Nylander that would lead to Nakita Zaitsev scoring his first of the season to tie the game at 2. Then Ovechkin would take a bad cross checking penalty to give the Maple Leafs the powerplay, which Auston Matthews would score on to get himself back on the score sheet while on the powerplay to give the Maple Leafs a 3-2 lead going into the 2nd intermission.

    Steve’s Analysis: Leafs looked to be having one of those games again. But Zaitsev with an nice point shot tied it up and Matthews with a deadly studder step and snipe to break the slump and make it 3-2 Toronto heading to the 3rd.

     

    The third period would be all Maple Leafs the first 10 minutes of the period which would feature two more goals from Kadri to net the hat trick and give the Maple Leafs a three goal lead. The Capitals would get one back when Matt Niskanen bombed one from the point, but it would too late for the Capitals as Mitch Marner would then net the empty netter to seal this game for the Maple Leafs and give the Capitals their seventh straight loss going into the All Star Break.

    Steve’s Analysis: Leafs came to play in 3rd not letting Andersen’s great game go to waste. Kadri notched the Hat trick, along with 3 point for his line mate Nylander and Marner sealed the deal with an empty netter off of a Ovechkin giveaway in the neutral zone.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Travis Boyd — Andre Burakovsky

    Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Madison Bowey — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Nic Dowd, Devante Smith-Pelly, Brooks Orpik

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    Toronto Maple Leafs:

    Patrick Marleau — Auston Matthews — Mitchell Marner

    Zach Hyman — John Tavares — Kasperi Kapanen

    Connor Brown — Nazem Kadri — William Nylander

    Par Lindholm — Frederik Gauthier — Trevor Moore

    Morgan Rielly — Ron Hainsey

    Travis Dermott — Nikita Zaitsev

    Martin Marincin — Igor Ozhiganov

    Frederik Andersen

    Garret Sparks

    Scratched: Justin Holl

    Injured: Tyler Ennis (broken ankle), Andreas Johnsson (concussion), Jake Gardiner (back spasms)

     

    First Period:

    Maple Leafs Penalty – 16:49 – Patrick Marleau 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals PPG – 18:47 – Nicklas Backstrom (13) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (32) from John Carlson (39)

    Maple Leafs Goal – 19:34 – Nazem Kadri (11) from William Nylander (4) and Morgan Rielly (36)

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 1       TOR – 1

    Shots              10                08

    Faceoffs         05                18

    Hits               08                  03

    PP                 1/1                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Goal – 3:51 – Alex Ovechkin (37) from TJ Oshie (12) and Michal Kempny (11)

    Maple Leafs Goal – 13:11 – Nakita Zaitsev (1) from William Nylander (5) and Nazem Kadri (19)

    Capitals Penalty – 15:35 – Alex Ovechkin 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Maple Leafs PPG – 16:19 – Auston Matthews (21) from Morgan Rielly (37)

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 2        TOR – 3

    Shots               29                 26

    Faceoffs          14                 29

    Hits                 17                  09

    PP                   1/1                  1/1

     

    Third Period:

    Maple Leafs Goal – 2:10 – Nazem Kadri (12) from Connor Brown (13) and Martin Marincin (2)

    Maple Leafs Goal – 10:15 – Nazem Kadri (13) from Connor Brown (14) and William Nylander (6)

    Capitals Goal – 17:14 – Matt Niskanen (7) from TJ Oshie (13) and Nicklas Backstrom (38)

    Maple Leafs ENG – 19:27 – Mitch Marner (20) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 3         TOR – 6

    Shots             44                     37

    Faceoffs        21                    38

    Hits               32                     15

    PP                 1/1                    1/1

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-16-6 60pts) v. Calgary (33-13-5 71pts) – February 1st

    Toronto (30-17-2 62pts) @ Detroit (19-25-7 45pts) – February 1st

  • Gameday Preview – 1/23/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Toronto Maple Leafs

    Gameday Preview – 1/23/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Toronto Maple Leafs

    Washington Capitals (27-16-6 60pts) v. Toronto Maple Leafs (29-17-2 60pts)

     

    Time: 730p EST

    Station: NBC Sports Network and Sportsnet

     

    Preview:

    Tonight the Washington Capitals head to Toronto to face off against the Maple Leafs before they head into the All Star Break and Bye Week. The Capitals, who have lost 6 straight, will be looking to go into their break on a good note as they face a Maple Leafs team that is also struggling right now.

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Projected Lineup:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Travis Boyd — Andre Burakovsky

    Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Nic Dowd, Madison Bowey, Devante Smith-Pelly

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    Keys to the Game:

    1. Gain the early momentum

    The Capitals need to strike early, and suck the wind out of Scotiabank Center, and put the Maple Leafs on their heels. The Capitals have given up too many early goals and need to get one first before Toronto can.

     

    2. Play like it’s the playoffs

    The Capitals need to start playing their games as if they were all playoff games. While it may be moot after tonight as the Capitals will be going on a break after they play the Leafs, it’s a good way for them to enforce good habits even during a trying time.

     

    For the preview on the Toronto Maple Leafs, please read Steve Gardiner’s Maple Leafs Preview for tonight’s game.

  • Game Recap – 1/22/2019 – San Jose Sharks v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 1/22/2019 – San Jose Sharks v. Washington Capitals

    San Jose Sharks (28-16-7 63pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-16-5 59pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The San Jose Sharks would strike quickly to get the 1-0 lead over the Washington Capitals twelve seconds into the game. After that the Sharks would generate a few more opportunities in the Capitals zone, but it would be a rush into the Sharks zone that would see Tim Heed get called for hooking. The Capitals would only need 13 seconds of powerplay time as Alex Ovechkin would score to tie the game. The less than two minutes later, Chandler Stephenson would gain possession of the puck in the neutral zone, and then feed the puck to Andre Burakovsky who would roof it to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead. However, TJ Oshie would be called for tripping resulting in a powerplay for the Sharks, and just like the Capitals powerplay, the Sharks didn’t need a lot of time for Tomas Hertl to score and tie the game at two a piece. But the Capitals would respond as Ovechkin would steal the puck and get into the zone to pass it to Oshie to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead on a shot that had to be fought to be put in.

     

    The Capitals would start the period short handed, but would kill the penalty. However, the Sharks would get on the board with Evander Kane’s 20th of the season. But two minutes later Evgeny Kuznetsov would score in a scramble around the Sharks net to regain the lead. Then it would be Ovechkin again as he would net his second of the game to give the Capitals a 5-3 lead after killing off a Lars Eller delay of game penalty. However, the Capitals would not enter the second intermission with their 2 goal lead intact as a 3 on 0 odd man rush would give Logan Couture the opportunity to score and shrink the Capitals lead to 1.

     

    The third period would show both teams trading some powerplay opportunities, but it would be Ovechkin with the hat trick to regain the Capitals two goal lead. However, on a John Carlson holding penalty, Tomas Hertl would score his second of the game to keep the Sharks in this game. Then with one second left and with the goalie pulled, Evander Kane would score his second of the game with one second left on the clock to send this game to overtime.

     

    To start overtime the Capitals would be buzzing with the opening trio of John Carlson, Tom Wilson, and Evgeny Kuznetsov, but it would not be enough as Tomas Hertl would score his third of the game to win this game for the Sharks and giving their 6th straight loss.

     

    Lineups:

    San Jose Sharks:

    Marcus Sorensen — Joe Thornton — Melker Karlsson

    Timo Meier — Logan Couture — Joe Pavelski

    Evander Kane — Tomas Hertl — Joonas Donskoi

    Lukas Radil — Barclay Goodrow — Kevin Labanc

    Radim Simek — Brent Burns

    Brenden Dillon — Tim Heed

    Joakim Ryan — Justin Braun

    Martin Jones

    Aaron Dell

    Scratched: Dylan Gambrell, Jacob Middleton

    Injured: Erik Karlsson (lower body), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (upper body)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Dmitrij Jaskin — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Travis Boyd — Andre Burakovsky

    Dmitry Orlov — John Carlson

    Michal Kempny — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Nic Dowd, Madison Bowey, Devante Smith-Pelly

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    First Period:

    Sharks Goal – :12 – Joe Pavelski (27) from Timo Meier (26) and Brent Burns (45)

    Sharks Penalty -10:28 – Tim Heed 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals PPG – 10:41 – Alex Ovechkin (34) from Nicklas Backstrom (36) and TJ Oshie (10)

    Capitals Goal – 12:11 – Andre Burakovsky (6) from Chandler Stephenson (5) and Travis Boyd (11)

    Capitals Penalty – 13:46 – TJ Oshie 2 minutes for Tripping

    Sharks PPG – 14:27 – Tomas Hertl (20) from Joe Pavelski (16) and Joe Thornton (15)

    Capitals Goal – 15:19 – TJ Oshie (15) from Alex Ovechkin (20) and John Carlson (38)

    Capitals Penalty – 18:46 – Matt Niskanen 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – SJ – 2       WAS – 3

    Shots              15                13

    Faceoffs         10                11

    Hits               06                  05

    PP                 1/1                 1/1

     

    Second Period:

    Sharks Goal – :52 – Evander Kane (20) from Timo Meier (27) and Brent Burns (46)

    Capitals Goal – 2:53 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (9) from Jakub Vrana (12) and Tom Wilson (10)

    Capitals Penalty – 3:03 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    Capitals Goal – 5:41 – Alex Ovechkin (35) from Nicklas Backstrom (37) and TJ Oshie (11)

    Capitals Penalty – 11:45 – Dmitrij Jaskin 2 minutes for Hooking

    Sharks Penalty – 12:34 Brent Burns 2 minutes for Tripping

    Sharks Goal – 14:39 – Logan Couture (19) from unassisted

     

    End of 2nd – SJ – 4        WAS – 5

    Shots               28                 26

    Faceoffs          24                 20

    Hits                 10                  14

    PP                   1/4                  1/2

     

    Third Period:

    Sharks Penalty – :53 – Evander Kane 2 minutes for Slashing

    Capitals Penalty – 2:50 – Bench (Burakovsky) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Capitals Goal – 5:52 – Alex Ovechkin (36) from Jakub Vrana (13) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (31)

    Capitals Penalty – 8:49 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Holding

    Sharks PPG – 10:02 – Tomas Hertl (21) from Joe Pavelski (17) and Logan Couture (27)

    Sharks Goal – 19:59 – Evander Kane (21) from Tomas Hertl (23) and Joe Pavelski (18)

     

    End of 3rd – SJ – 6         WAS – 6

    Shots              41                   37

    Faceoffs        32                    29

    Hits               15                     25

    PP                 2/6                    1/3

     

    OT:

    Sharks Goal – 1:48 – Tomas Hertl (22) from Logan Couture (28)

     

    End of OT – SJ – 6         WAS – 6

    Shots              43                   39

    Faceoffs        34                    30

    Hits               16                     25

    PP                 2/6                    1/3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-16-6 60pts) @ Toronto (29-17-2 60pts)

    San Jose (29-16-7 65pts) v. Arizona (22-22-4 48pts)