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Tag: Alex Ovechkin

  • Game Recap – 2/7/2019 – Colorado Avalanche v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 2/7/2019 – Colorado Avalanche v. Washington Capitals

    Colorado Avalanche (22-22-8 52pts) v. Washington Capitals (29-18-6 64pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals would have a slightly shaky start as the Colorado Avalanche would force Pheonix Copley to make some big saves early, but it would be the Capitals who would get the first goal of the game as TJ Oshie would throw the puck to the net and Andre Burakovsky would tip it in for his seventh of the season. The Capitals would get their first powerplay opportunity when Mikko Rantanen would be called for tripping, and it would look like Nicklas Backstrom would have scored on the power play to get a two goal lead, but the referee would call it no goal as he had already blew the whistle. To end the period the Capitals would be on the penalty kill when Devante Smith-Pelly would be called for high sticking.

     

    To open the second period the Capitals would finish off the penalty kill, but it would be Nathan MacKinnon scoring 35 seconds into the period to tie the game at one. The Capitals would challenge offsides, but would lose the coach’s challenge, which was the right decision as the play was onside, resulting in a delay of game penalty that the Capitals would kill off as well. The Capitals would get another power play opportunity when Ian Cole would be called for tripping Travis Boyd, and this time the Capitals would make it count when Evgeny Kuznetsov would knock it a loose puck in the crease to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead. The Avalanche would not do themselves any favors though as Nikita Zadorov would be called for interference and then after they killed that penalty, MacKinnon would be called for tripping, but the Avalanche would kill off that penalty too.

     

    The Capitals would kick start the third period with a Matt Niskanen goal when he would blast a Jakub Vrana rebound on net, and it would have gone over the net if it were not for hitting Semyon Varlamov’s blocker and dipping into the net. The Capitals would get another power play opportunity when Gabriel Landeskog would be called for holding, but once again the Avalanche would kill the penalty and Landeskog would put in hard work down low to to feed Mikko Rantanen to get the Avalanche within one of the Capitals. Then the fireworks would explode as an unnecessary hit from Ian Cole to Kuznetsov would bring in Tom Wilson as the two would scrap forcing themselves out of the game. However, the Capitals would get a three minute powerplay out of all this.

    After the Avalanche killed the three minute powerplay for the Capitals, a horrible play by Lars Eller on an odd man rush would turn the puck over to the Avalanche as Colin Wilson would score a goal Pheonix Copley would love to have back to tie the game and force overtime.

     

    Overtime would be fast paced and almost looked like it was going to go to the shootout, but it would be Alex Ovechkin feeding Evgeny Kuznetsov with the breakaway pass to score the game winner and continue the Capitals new winning ways.

     

    Lineups:

    Colorado Avalanche:

    Gabriel Landeskog — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen

    Matt Nieto — Carl Soderberg — Matt Calvert

    Alexander Kerfoot — J.T. Compher — Colin Wilson

    Sven Andrighetto — Sheldon Dries — A.J. Greer

    Ian Cole — Erik Johnson

    Nikita Zadorov — Tyson Barrie

    Patrik Nemeth — Samuel Girard

    Semyon Varlamov

    Philipp Grubauer

    Scratched: Anton Lindholm, Gabriel Bourque

    Injured: Vladislav Kamenev (shoulder), Mark Barberio (head)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson – Travis Boyd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey

    Pheonix Copley

    Braden Holtby

    Scratched: Nic Dowd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 6:31 – Andre Burakovsky (7) from TJ Oshie (15) and Matt Niskanen (13)

    Avalanche Penalty – 13:40 – Mikko Rantanen 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Penalty – 18:14 – Devante Smith-Pelly 2 minutes for High Sticking

     

    End of 1st – COL – 0       WAS – 1

    Shots              09                12

    Faceoffs         11                07

    Hits               07                  13

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Avalanche Goal – :35 – Nathan MacKinnon (28) from Tyson Barrie (34) and Gabriel Landeskog (26)

    Capitals Penalty – :35 – Bench (Ovechkin) 2 minutes for Delay of Game (Failed Coach’s Challenge)

    Avalanche Penalty – 7:06 – Ian Cole 2 minutes for Tipping

    Capitals PPG – 8:38 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (11) from Alex Ovechkin (22) and John Carlson (41)

    Avalanche Penalty – 13:27 – Nikita Zadorov 2 minutes for Interference

    Avalanche Penalty – 16:31 – Nathan MacKinnon 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 2nd – COL – 1        WAS – 2

    Shots               25                 27

    Faceoffs          20                 18

    Hits                 10                  24

    PP                   0/2                  1/4

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Goal – :34 – Matt Niskanen (8) from Jakub Vrana (16) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (36)

    Avalanche Penalty – 2:40 – Gabriel Landeskog 2 minutes for Hooking

    Avalanche Goal – 5:10 – Mikko Rantanen (24) from Gabriel Landeskog (27)

    Avalanche Penalty – 11:18 – Ian Cole 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 11:18 – Tom Wilson 5 minute major for Fighting

    Avalanche Penalty – 11:18 – Ian Cole 5 minute major for Interference

    Avalanche Penalty – 11:18 – Ian Cole Game Misconduct

    Capitals Penalty – 11:18 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Instigating

    Capitals Penalty – 11:18 – Tom Wilson 10 minute Misconduct

    Avalanche Goal – 17:53 – Colin Wilson (10) from Matt Calvert (12)

     

    End of 3rd – COL – 3         WAS – 3

    Shots              35                   39

    Faceoffs        27                    26

    Hits               18                     31

    PP                 0/2                    1/6

     

    OT:

    Capitals Goal – 4:12 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (12) from Alex Ovechkin (23)

     

    End of OT – COL – 3         WAS – 4

    Shots              37                   42

    Faceoffs        27                    27

    Hits               18                     33

    PP                 0/2                    1/6

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (30-18-6 66pts) v. Florida (22-22-8 52pts)

    Colorado (22-22-9 53pts) @ NY Islanders (31-16-6 68pts)

  • Game Recap – 2/5/2019 – Vancouver Canucks v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 2/5/2019 – Vancouver Canucks v. Washington Capitals

    Vancouver Canucks (24-23-6 54pts) v. Washington Capitals (28-18-6 62pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals would start off hot as they would force the play in the Vancouver Canucks zone early as TJ Oshie would charge the net for the Nicklas Backstrom rebound to get the Capitals the first goal of the game. The goal would also be assisted on by Alex Ovechkin who would be come the highest scoring Russian player in NHL history.

    However, 39 seconds later Evgeny Kuznetsov would be called for hooking, but the Capitals would kill of the penalty. The Capitals would get a powerplay opportunity as well, but could not convert on it. The Capitals would dominate the period which featured them out shooting the Canucks 18 to 5.

     

    This was a lackluster period. Not a whole lot really to talk about this period outside of the penalty shot opportunity for Bo Horvat, but Braden Holtby was up to the task to shut Horvat down to keep the 1-0 lead.

     

    The Capitals would start off the third period the same way they way started the game by crashing the net, this time with Brett Connolly banking in the shot to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead. However, the Canucks would respond with their first goal of the game when Markus Granlund would tip in a Antoine Roussel pass past Holtby. But the Capitals would respond in kind as the Capitals would create more chaos in front of the Canucks net to get the puck past Jacob Markstrom to make it a 3-1 lead. The Canucks would dispute the goal claiming it was hit with a high stick, but the referees declared it a good goal by Jakub Vrana after further review. Elias Pettersson would score with 8 seconds left in the game with the goalie pulled, but it would be too little too late for the Canucks as the Capitals hold on to win 3-2.

     

    Lineups:

    Vancouver Canucks:

    Tim Schaller — Bo Horvat — Josh Leivo

    Nikolay Goldobin — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser

    Antoine Roussel — Brandon Sutter — Jake Virtanen

    Loui Eriksson — Jay Beagle — Tyler Motte

    Alex Biega — Christopher Tanev

    Ben Hutton — Troy Stecher

    Derrick Pouliot — Erik Gudbranson

    Jacob Markstrom

    Michael DiPietro

    Scratched: Markus Granlund

    Injured: Alexander Edler (face), Sven Baertschi (illness), Thatcher Demko (lower body)

     

    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 Goal – 3:00 – TJ Oshie (16) from Nicklas Backstrom (40) and Alex Ovechkin (21)

    Capitals Penalty – 3:39 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Hooking

    Canucks Penalty – 11:59 – Nikolay Goldobin 2 minutes for Goaltender Interference

     

    End of 1st – VAN – 0       WAS – 1

    Shots              05                18

    Faceoffs         11                11

    Hits               07                  07

    PP                 0/1                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 3:45 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Hooking

    Canucks Penalty Shot – 12:53 – Bo Horvat – Save (Jonas Siegenthaler – Hooking)

     

    End of 2nd – VAN – 0        WAS – 1

    Shots               18                 22

    Faceoffs          18                 19

    Hits                 16                  13

    PP                   0/2                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Goal – 5:47 – Brett Connolly (10) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (34) and Jakub Vrana (15)

    Canucks Goal – 8:02 – Markus Granlund (9) from Antoine Roussel (16) and Ben Hutton (13)

    Capitals Goal – 12:13 Jakub Vrana (16) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (35) and Tom Wilson (11)

    Canucks Goal – 19:52 – Elias Pettersson (24) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – VAN – 2         WAS – 3

    Shots              32                   31

    Faceoffs        25                    28

    Hits               23                     20

    PP                 0/2                    0/1

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (29-18-6 64pts) v. Colorado (22-22-8 52pts)

    Vancouver (24-24-6 54pts) @ Chicago (21-24-9 51pts)

  • 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

  • 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)

  • TXHT Podcast – 1/17/2019

    TXHT Podcast – 1/17/2019

    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 our friend from The Hockey Writers Nate Oliver, and TXHT’s Toronto Maple Leafs writer Steve Gardiner.

     

    TXHT starts off with NWHL talk with Michael and Nate as we review the partnership between the NHL’s Boston Bruins and the NWHL’s Boston Pride. Plus a recap of last weekend’s action, as well as a preview for this upcoming weekend’s games. Also we talk about some other news and notes throughout the NWHL.

     

    Then Michael opens up the forum to Nate and Steve as they ask him questions about Alex Ovechkin, Madison Bowey, and the Capitals future on defense.

     

    Plus Michael and Steve talk about the Maple Leafs and the situation with the fans booing defenseman Jake Gardiner, and the slippery slope that is the growing negativity of “fans” on social media. Also all three geek out over hockey cards and some of their prized items in their memorabilia collections.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Wednesday, January 16th, 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 – 1/14/2019 – St. Louis Blues v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 1/14/2019 – St. Louis Blues v. Washington Capitals

    St. Louis Blues (19-20-4 42pts) v. Washington Capitals (27-12-5 59pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    After a slow start to the game, the Washington Capitals would get an opportunity when St. Louis Blues defender Vince Dunn would be called for boarding Brett Connolly, and after a sloppy start to the powerplay it would be Alex Ovechkin scoring his 33rd of the season on the powerplay to give the Capitals the 1-0 lead. After that powerplay goal, it would become an uneventful period for the Capitals as they would be forced into their own zone for a good amount of the second half of the period. It should also be noted that when the Capitals scored it was their second shot of the game after the Blues already had 7 on Pheonix Copley.

     

    To start the period it would be the Blues tying the game at one a piece when Ivan Barbashev snuck one glove slide along the post to beat Copley. However, the wound would be opened wider as Vince Dunn would shoot the puck that would take three weird bounces before going in, and then Ryan O’Reilly would be called for Tripping, but as soon as the penalty ended the Capitals would play poorly in their zone and David Perron would extend his point streak when he scored to give the Blues a 3-1 lead.

    This period would see the Capitals generate some chances, but nothing substantial before the end of the 2nd period.

     

    For the third period we would see about the same, plus a Blues powerplay goal by Vladimir Tarasenko to ice the game for the Blues over the Capitals 4-1.

     

     

    Lineups:

    St. Louis Blues:

    Jaden Schwartz — Brayden Schenn — Vladimir Tarasenko

    Zach Sanford — Ryan O’Reilly — David Perron

    Pat Maroon — Oskar Sundqvist — Jordan Kyruo

    Jordan Nolan — Ivan Barbashev — Sammy Blais

    Joel Edmundson — Alex Pietrangelo

    Jay Bouwmeester — Colton Parayko

    Vince Dunn — Robert Bortuzzo

    Jake Allen

    Jordan Binnington

    Scratched: Robby Fabbri, Mackenzie MacEachern, Carl Gunnarsson

    Injured: Tyler Bozak (upper body), Alexander Steen (shoulder), Robert Thomas (upper body)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Brett Connolly — Lars Eller — Andre Burakovsky

    Chandler Stephenson — Travis Boyd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey

    Pheonix Copley

    Braden Holtby

    Scratched: Nic Dowd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    First Period:

    Blues Penalty – 6:14 – Vince Dunn 2 minutes for Boarding

    Capitals PPG – 7:50 – Alex Ovechkin (33) from Dmitry Orlov (11) and Travis Boyd (9)

     

    End of 1st – STL – 0       WAS – 1

    Shots              14                07

    Faceoffs         08                07

    Hits               07                  07

    PP                 0/0                 1/1

     

    Second Period:

    Blues Goal – 3:18 – Ivan Barbashev (6) from unassisted

    Blues Goal – 5:11 – Vince Dunn (4) from Vladimir Tarasenko (14) and Jaden Schwartz (16)

    Blues Penalty – 5:22 – Ryan O’Reilly 2 minutes for Tripping

    Blues Goal – 8:00 – David Perron (16) from Vince Dunn (15) and Ryan O’Reilly (27)

    Blues Penalty – 15:00 – Pat Maroon 2 minutes fro Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 15:00 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Roughing

     

    End of 2nd – STL – 3        WAS – 1

    Shots               28                 20

    Faceoffs          20                 14

    Hits                 16                  19

    PP                   0/0                  1/2

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 2:01 – Matt Niskanen 2 minutes for Hooking

    Blues Penalty – 3:07 – Vladimir Tarasenko 2 minutes for Holding

    Blues Penalty – 9:26 – Alex Ovechkin 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    Blues PPG – 10:24 – Vladimir Tarasenko (15) from Ryan O’Reilly (28) and Alex Pietrangelo (12)

     

    End of 3rd – STL – 4         WAS – 1

    Shots              37                   29

    Faceoffs        33                    22

    Hits               22                     26

    PP                 1/2                    1/3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-13-5 59pts) @ Nashville (27-16-4 58pts)

    St. Louis (20-20-4 44pts) @ NY Islanders (25-15-4 54pts)

  • Game Recap – 1/10/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Boston Bruins

    Game Recap – 1/10/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Boston Bruins

    Washington Capitals (26-12-4 56pts) v. Boston Bruins (25-14-4 54pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals came into Boston looking to extend their win streak to three, but how they would start the game with an early Jonas Siegenthaler holding penalty would force the Capitals to kill the Bruins powerplay opportunity. Then after a strong kill the Capitals would get on the board when Jakub Vrana would score his 15th of the season off of a breakaway pass from TJ Oshie. The Bruins would put the pressure on the Capitals which would cause Michal Kempny to take a tripping penalty, but once again the Capitals would shut down the Bruins powerplay. Braden Holtby had a spectacular first period which saw him stop all 17 Bruins shots.

     

    The Bruins would start the period pressuring the Capitals, but then the Capitals would get a very good shift from their second line that would draw a penalty against Patrice Bergeron. However, the Capitals would not be able to do much with their first powerplay opportunity. Then Lars Eller would challenge Brad Marchand after being chirped at by Marchand, but Marchand would cowardly turtle when Eller dropped his gloves thus getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and another Bruins powerplay. The Capitals would kill the penalty, and then on a rush Alex Ovechkin would be tripped by Brandon Carlo to give the Capitals their second powerplay opportunity of the game. The Capitals would fail on the powerplay, and then the Bruins would take that momentum to tie up the game with Ryan Donato’s 6th of the season. However, it would not remain tied as Tom Wilson displayed great patience behind the net to find Ovechkin for his 31st goal of the season.

     

    The Bruins started the period with a powerplay due to a late penalty against Brett Connolly, but the Capitals would do a great job of killing the penalty. However, the Capitals would shoot themselves in the foot with a too many men on the ice penalty that would see David Krejci tie the game for the Bruins on the powereplay, but 69 seconds later Nicklas Backstrom would respond to retake the lead for the Capitals. Late in the third period the Bruins would pull goalie Jaroslav Halak, but then Ovechkin would nab the empty netter for his second of the game. The Capitals would end the Bruins 5 game winning streak and grow their win streak to 3 games.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Brett Connolly — Lars Eller — Travis Boyd

    Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Andre Burakovsky, Madison Bowey, Dmitrij Jaskin

    Injured: Christian Djoos (thigh)

     

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — David Backes

    Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari — Chris Wagner

    Ryan Donato — Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson — Danton Heinen

    Zdeno Chara — Brandon Carlo

    Torey Krug — John Moore

    Matt Grzelcyk — Kevan Miller

    Jaroslav Halak

    Tuukka Rask

    Scratched: Colby Cave, Steven Kampfer

    Injured: Charlie McAvoy (lower body), Joakim Nordstrom (fractured fibula)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 1:51 – Jonas Siegenthaler 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals Goal – 6:38 – Jakub Vrana (15) from TJ Oshie (6)

    Capitals Penalty – 14:13 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 1       BOS – 0

    Shots              05                17

    Faceoffs         09                10

    Hits               10                  05

    PP                 0/0                 0/2

     

    Second Period:

    Bruins Penalty – 5:10 – Patrice Bergeron 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Penalty – 7:43 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Bruins Penalty – 10:57 – Brandon Carlo 2 minutes for Tripping

    Bruins Goal – 14:11 – Ryan Donato (6) from Torey Krug (25) from Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (4)

    Capitals Goal – 14:50 – Alex Ovechkin (31) from Tom Wilson (9)

    Capitals Penalty – 19:52 – Brett Connolly 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 2        BOS – 1

    Shots               12                 28

    Faceoffs          15                 26

    Hits                 24                  17

    PP                   0/2                  0/3

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 3:58 – Bench (Ovechkin) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Bruins PPG – 4:37 – David Krejci (8) from Danton Heinen (7) and David Backes (8)

    Capitals Goal – 5:46 – Nicklas Backstrom (11) from TJ Oshie (7) and Jonas Siegenthaler (4)

    Capitals ENG – 18:25 – Alex Ovechkin (32) from unassisted

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 4         BOS – 2

    Shots              22                   41

    Faceoffs        22                    42

    Hits               32                     25

    PP                 0/2                    1/5

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (27-12-4 58pts) v. Columbus (25-15-3 53pts)

    Boston (25-16-4 54pts) @ Toronto (28-13-2 58pts)

  • Game Recap – 1/6/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Detroit Red Wings

    Game Recap – 1/6/2019 – Washington Capitals v. Detroit Red Wings

    Washington Capitals (24-12-4 52pts) v. Detroit Red Wings (16-20-7 39pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    To start this game, both the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings would have a feeling out process for the first few minutes, but then the Capitals would get a dominate shift from their second line that would carry over to their top line the very next shift as Tom Wilson would get the Capitals on the board first after continuing sustaining the pressure in the Red Wings zone. Then both teams would continue with some back and forth until Jakub Vrana turns the puck over in the defensive zone which leads to Anthony Mantha tying the game at one for the Red Wings. Late in the period the Capitals would get a powerplay after Dylan Larkin tripped Alex Ovechkin in the neutral zone, but would do nothing with it, and will have 37 seconds of powerplay time to start the second period.

    Going into the second period the Capitals looked sluggish and their powerplay time was wasted away. Also as a result of their sloppy play, the Red Wings would capitalize on a tic-tac-toe play as Filip Hronek would score his third of the season to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. The Capitals would then take back to back penalties in this very boring period. They would kill both penalties, and then would draw a penalty with 5 seconds left in the period.

    The start of the third period was not very ideal as the Capitals could not generate on their powerplay to start the third period. However, it would be a smart play by Travis Boyd that would generate in him scoring to tie the game at 2 for the Capitals. The goal would breathe life into the Capitals and would force Niklas Kronwall to take a hooking penalty, and while the Capitals generated a few good looks, could not capitalize on yet another powerplay. The Capitals would continue the pressure and get an ugly knuckle puck goal from Michal Kempny that would hold as the game winner despite the barrage of penalties to both teams near the end of the game.

    It was an ugly and boring win for the Capitals, but they ended their three game losing streak to end their road trip.

     

    Lineups:

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Chandler Stephenson — Travis Boyd — Devante Smith-Pelly

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Matt Niskanen — Dmitry Orlov

    Brooks Orpik — Madison Bowey

    Braden Holtby

    Pheonix Copley

    Scratched: Nic Dowd, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jonas Siegenthaler

    Injured: Christian Djoos (leg)

     

    Detroit Red Wings:

    Gustav Nyquist — Dylan Larkin — Tyler Bertuzzi

    Thomas Vanek — Frans Nielsen — Anthony Mantha

    Darren Helm — Luke Glendening — Andreas Athanasiou

    Christoffer Ehn — Jacob de la Rose — Justin Abdelkader

    Niklas Kronwall — Filip Hronek

    Nick Jensen — Dennis Cholowski

    Jonathan Ericsson — Luke Witkowski

    Jimmy Howard

    Jonathan Bernier

    Scratched: Martin Frk, Brian Lashoff

    Injured: Evgeny Svechnikov (knee surgery), Danny DeKeyser (hand), Mike Green (foot), Trevor Daley (foot), Michael Rasmussen (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Capitals Goal – 6:57 – Tom Wilson (12) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (28)

    Red Wings Goal – 14:08 – Anthony Mantha (10) from unassisted

    Red Wings Penalty – 18:37 – Dylan Larkin 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – WAS – 1       DET – 1

    Shots              13                09

    Faceoffs         10                11

    Hits               07                  05

    PP                 0/0                 0/0

     

    Second Period:

    Red Wings Goal – 6:47 – Filip Hronek (3) from Dylan Larkin (23) and Gustav Nyquist (26)

    Capitals Penalty – 10:33 – Alex Ovechkin 2 minutes for Slashing

    Capitals Penalty – 14:11 – Jonas Siegenthaler 2 minutes for High Sticking

    Red Wings Penalty -19:55 – Jonathan Ericsson 2 minutes for Holding

     

    End of 2nd – WAS – 1        DET – 2

    Shots               19                 19

    Faceoffs          17                 23

    Hits                 13                  08

    PP                   0/1                  0/2

     

    Third Period:

    Capitals Goal – 6:19 – Travis Boyd (4) from Alex Ovechkin (17)

    Red Wings Penalty – 7:01 – Niklas Kronwall 2 minutes for Hooking

    Capitals Goal – 16:08 – Michal Kempny (5) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (29) and Matt Niskanen (11)

    • Failed Coach’s Challenge for Goalie Interference by Detroit

    Capitals Penalty – 17:13 – TJ Oshie 2 minutes for Slashing

    Red Wings Penalty – 19:30 – Andreas Athanasiou 2 minutes for Tripping

    Capitals Penalty – 19:56 – TJ Oshie double minor for High Sticking

     

    End of 3rd – WAS – 2         DET – 2

    Shots              34                   25

    Faceoffs        25                    36

    Hits               20                     09

    PP                 0/4                    0/3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (25-12-4 54pts) v. Philadelphia (15-20-6 36pts)

    Detroit (16-21-7 39pts) v. Montreal (22-15-5 49pts)

  • TXHT – 1/5/2019 – We’re BACK!!!

    TXHT – 1/5/2019 – We’re BACK!!!

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

     

    Audio Version:

     

    YouTube Version:

     

    For our first episode of 2019, Michael Lindenbaum is joined by our St. Louis Blues contributor Aryan Weisenfeld as they tackle several subjects on the show.

     

    Michael and Aryan go in depth about the NHL All Star Game Rosters and about specific players that made it to the All Star Game, plus they discussed which game Alex Ovechkin should sit out for his one game suspension for not attending the All Star Weekend.

     

    Michael and Aryan also go into an in depth conversation about Washington Capitals Tom Wilson and the stigma that follows him no matter what he does when he plays, plus also the double standard that there is in the NHL when it comes to discipline from Player Safety.

     

    Plus Michael and Aryan talk about the Blues and what’s going wrong with them, the Dallas Stars and their CEO putting their top players on blast, the 2020 All Star Game, 2020 Winter Classic, and the other outdoor games that were announced during the Winter Classic earlier this week.

     

    This week’s episode was recorded on Thursday, January 3rd, 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.

  • Capitals News – Alex Ovechkin elects to skip the 2019 NHL All Star Game

    Capitals News – Alex Ovechkin elects to skip the 2019 NHL All Star Game

    It was announced earlier today that Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has elected to not attend the 2019 NHL All Star Game later this month in San Jose.

     

    As a result of Ovechkin, who was also voted as the Metropolitan Division captain by the fans, will be required to miss either the game before the All Star Break (Wed. 1/23 @ Toronto) or after the All Star Break (Fri. 2/1 v. Calgary) per NHL rules.

     

    Honestly, it would be in the best interest for both the Capitals and Ovechkin to miss the game going into the break against Toronto on the road, and return on February 1st at home against the Calgary Flames, but that’s just my take.

     

    Either way, with Ovechkin not going to the All Star Game that brings up two questions.

    1. Who will now be the Metropolitan captain?

    2. Who will represent the Capitals now?

     

    We will find out both in due time.

     

    *Feature Photo courtesy of the Washington Capitals