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Tag: Michal Kempny

  • Game Recap – 10/18/2019 – New York Rangers v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 10/18/2019 – New York Rangers v. Washington Capitals

    New York Rangers (2-2-0 4pts) v. Washington Capitals (4-2-2 10pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    The Washington Capitals host the New York Rangers as they look to end their three game homestand with a possible 4 out 6 standing points, and early in the first period while on the powerplay the Capitals would strike as TJ Oshie would continue to jam at the puck, in front of the net, and due to the scrum would see a Rangers defensemen inadvertently kick the puck into the net to give the Capitals the 1-0 lead. Then 10 minutes later Pavel Buchnevich would strike on a Rangers powerplay to tie the game at one, but the Capitals would strike less than three minutes later as the as the returning Michal Kempny would one time a rebound past Henrik Lundqvist to give the Capitals the 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    Then early in the second period Nic Dowd would score his first of the season after finding the rebound and shooting it into the wide open net for the 3-1 lead. But late in the period Artemi Panarin would score his third of the season to cut the Capitals lead back to one as the Capitals head into the second intermission with the 3-2 lead.

     

    In the third period the physicality would pick up as both Brendan Smith and Garnet Hathaway would have a fight, but Smith would also get an addition two minutes for cross checking to give the Capitals the powerplay that would see TJ Oshie score his second of the game after he would tip a John Carlson point blast to give the Capitals the 4-2 lead. Then in the final thirty seconds of the game Hathaway would score the empty net goal to secure the Capitals the 5-2 victory over the Rangers.

     

    Lineups:

    New York Rangers:

    Artemi Panarin — Mika Zibanejad — Pavel Buchnevich

    Chris Kreider — Brett Howden — Kaapo Kakko

    Brendan Smith — Ryan Strome — Jesper Fast

    Greg McKegg — Lias Andersson — Micheal Haley

    Brady Skjei — Tony DeAngelo

    Libor Hajek — Jacob Trouba

    Marc Staal — Adam Fox

    Henrik Lundqvist

    Alexandar Georgiev

    Scratched: Brendan Lemieux

    Injured: None

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Carl Hagelin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Garnet Hathaway

    Brendan Leipsic – Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    Jonas Siegenthaler — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Nick Jensen

    Michal Kempny — Radko Gudas

    Braden Holtby

    Ilya Samsonov

    Scratched: Tyler Lewington, Travis Boyd, Martin Fehervary

    Injured: Richard Panik (upper body)

     

    First Period:

    NYR Penalty – 1:09 – Artemi Panarin 2 minutes for Slashing

    WAS PPG – 2:24 – TJ Oshie (5) from unassisted

    NYR Penalty – 4:11 – Brendan Lemieux 5 minute major for Fighting

    WAS Penalty – 4:11 – Radko Gudas 5 minute magor for Fighting

    WAS Penalty – 5:08 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Interference

    WAS Penalty – 11:50 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Tripping

    NYR PPG – 12:25 – Pavel Buchnevich (1) from Mika Zibanejad (5) and Jacob Trouba (4)

    WAS Goal – 15:16 – Michal Kempny (1) from Alex Ovechkin (4) and John Carlson (12)

    NYR Penalty – 16:23 – Chris Kreider 2 minutes for Tripping

     

    End of 1st – NYR – 1       WAS – 2

    10-18 v NYR 1

     

    Second Period:

    WAS Goal – 3:45 – Nic Dowd (1) from Dmitry Orlov (3) and John Carlson (13)

    WAS Penalty Shot – 10:16 – Jakub Vrana – Saved by Lundqvist

    WAS Penalty – 13:16 – Radko Gudas 2 minutes for Holding

    NYR Goal – 16:56 – Artemi Panarin (3) from Chris Kreider (3)

     

    End of 2nd – NYR – 2       WAS – 3

    10-18 v NYR 2

     

    Third Period:

    NYR Penalty – 9:20 – Brendan Smith (Artemi  Panarin) 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    NYR Penalty – 9:20 – Brendan Smith 5 minute major for Fighting

    WAS Penalty – 9:20 – Garnet Hathaway 5 minute major for Fighting

    WAS PPG – 10:18 – TJ Oshie (6) from John Carlson (14) and Nicklas Backstrom (6)

    WAS Penalty – 11:42 – John Carlson 2 minutes for Slashing

    NYR Penalty – 15:29 – Libor Hajek 2 minutes for Tripping

    WAS ENG – 19:32 – Garnet Hathaway (2) from Carl Hagelin (2)

     

    End of 3rd – NYR – 2       WAS – 5

    10-18 v NYR 3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (5-2-2 12pts) @ Chicago (2-2-1 3pts)

    NY Rangers (2-3-0 4pts) v. Vancouver (4-2-0 8pts)

     

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  • It’s #ALLCAPS in New York; Capitals v Islanders

    It’s #ALLCAPS in New York; Capitals v Islanders

    Washington Capitals (1-0-0) v. New York Islanders (0-0-0)

      Record Predicted Goaltender
    Washington Capitals 1-0-0 (2019-20)Ilya Samsonov
    New York Islanders 5-2-0 (preseason)Semyon Varlamov

    *Full disclosure: this might give you a headache at first, so bear with me on this one.

    Washington Capitals’ newest back-up goaltender Ilya Samsonov is getting his first regular season NHL start against former Washington Capitals’ net-minder Semyon Varlamov, who now plays for former Washington Capitals’ head-coach Barry Trotz. Say that five times fast, and let me know if you can still remember who’s who.

    The Washington Capitals crashed the party on Wednesday, where they played the reigning Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues on the night of their combined Home Opener-Banner Raising. After falling behind two goals to none, just eight minutes into the contest, the Capitals made a comeback in what played much like an actual Stanley Cup Playoff game. Veteran netminder Braden Holtby allowed two soft goals, one just 53 seconds into the game, and a power play goal just short of the eight-minute mark. However, a goal from none other than The ‘GR8’ Alexander Ovechkin and a 2nd period power play goal from Dmitry ‘Scorlov’ Orlov got the good guys back in the game, and it took overtime for the score to be settled. Jakub Vrana, perhaps one of the best skaters of the night for the Capitals, would be the one to break a 28-minute tie in overtime with a perfectly calculated shot that Blues’ net-minder Jordan Binnington probably wishes he could get back. 19-year old Slovakian rookie defenseman Martin Fehervary made his NHL debut, but was able to handle the pressure as good as anyone could have hoped. Mistakes were made, which are to be expected, but Fehervary proved to us all why he deserves a roster spot. And hey, if the Capitals’ coaching staff are excited about him, well we are too. A little birdy told me that Fehervary received the iconic “hard hat” after Wednesday nights’ game, which coincidentally is a Nationals’ batting helmet (Tarik_ElBashir).

    Tonight, the New York Islanders will be playing in their home opener at the Nassau Coliseum, one of 27 games to be played on Long Island this season. The Islanders are currently transitioning to play the majority of their home games at the Coliseum, as opposed to Barclays Center, which has been ‘home base’ since 2015. In the meantime, work has just begun on the Islanders’ new arena, to be built at Belmont Park, Elmont, Long Island, New York. Fans are thrilled to bring Islanders hockey back to the Island, and to a considerably more commuter- and home-town fan-friendly location than both the Coliseum and Barclays Center. Last season, the New York Islanders found themselves in the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, and stunned fans from around the league when they swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, only to be swept themselves by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second (yes, those Hurricanes). Over the summer, the Isles lost goaltender Robin Lehner to Chicago, who had played a pivotal role in the teams’ success during the 2018-19 season, but held on to Thomas Greiss, and acquired Semyon Varlamov from the Colorado Avalanche through free agency. Drafted by the Washington Capitals in 2006, Varlamov played 3 seasons in Washington (2008-2011), and in 2009, helped the Capitals advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 1998. In 2011, Varlamov was traded to the Colorado Avalanche, where he played for 8 seasons, and given struggles with poor performance and injuries, the Russian goaltender maintained a 183-156-38 record, and averaged a .915 SV% (NHL.com).

    Many Caps’ fans, just like Ilya Samsonov himself, have been anticipating this very moment for a quite a while now; the first chance to see the other Russian net-minder snag the back-up goalie spot for the Washington Capitals. Samsonov, a 2015 1st round draft pick by the Washington Capitals spent last season in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, and showed lots of promise through two preseason games, both of which were tallied as wins. On September 18th, where he split a win with Vitek Vanecek, versus the St. Louis Blues, Samsonov stopped 12 of 13 shots faced, and in a stand-alone win on the 21st versus Carolina, allowed two goals on 15 shots (TheScore, Samsonov). Alex Ovechkin, with one goal through one game thus far, is by default, on pace to score 82 goals this season. We’d be satisfied with another 50-goal season, but if a goal-a-game is what it takes to win another Rocket Richard Trophy in a league with so many prolific goal-scorers, (and maybe another Art Ross… or Stanley Cup), whatever it takes, right?

    Some good news on Caps’ defenseman Michal Kempny. Per Isabelle Khurshudyan, Kempny did in fact practice yesterday morning with the Capitals in a full-contact jersey, but head-coach Todd Reirden did in fact rule the blue-liner out of today’s line-up versus the Islanders (ikhurshudyan). It is to be determined if he will play in the Capitals’ home opener on Saturday, October 5th.

    Finally, last year’s back-up goaltender Pheonix Copley cleared waivers, and has been loaned to the Hershey Bears.

    Coverage of the game begins at 6:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 6:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop shortly after 7:00pm.

     

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    Ikhurshudyan. (2019). Kempny is out tomorrow. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/ikhurshudyan/status/1179813315058556928?s=20.

    NHL.com. (2019). Semyon Varlamov. Retrieved from https://www.nhl.com/player/semyon-varlamov-8473575?stats=career-r-nhl&season=null.

    Tarik_ElBashir. (2019). Here’s #Caps Coach Todd Reirden casually revealing that the team hard hat is a #Nats batting helmet. It went to rookie Martin Fehervary after Wednesday’s season opening OT victory in STL. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/Tarik_ElBashir/status/1179630138461478912?s=20

    TheScore. (2019). Ilya Samsonov. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/players/7675.

  • Wednesday Night Hockey: The Last Two Champs Face-off For the First Time.

    Wednesday Night Hockey: The Last Two Champs Face-off For the First Time.

    Washington Capitals (0-0-0) v. St Louis Blues (0-0-0)

     

      Pre-Season Record Predicted Goaltender Stanley Cup Champions
    Washington Capitals 5-1-0 Braden Holtby 2017-18
    St. Louis Blues 4-3-0 Jordan Binnington 2018-19

    It has been a long off-season for Caps’ fans, but we’re finally here. Does anyone else find it slightly more than coincidental that the two previous Stanley Cup Champions are facing off on the first day of the 2019-20 season? I know, I know, the schedule was made before the Blues won the cup, but raise your hand if you think that had something to do with the end result. The Capitals and Blues played each other twice during the preseason, splitting the games with one win a piece. Both teams won by just a single goal in each victory.

    On Sunday, the Washington Capitals rounded out their six-game preseason schedule with a tight 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. While many fans are hesitant about making associations between preseason performances the regular season, there are a couple of things we know for certain. Tom Wilson is about to have a heck of a year. In just 3 preseason matches, Wilson tallied two goals and an assist, including one short-handed goal against the Chicago Blackhawks. While Top Line Tom led the team in short-handed goals last season (2G), it is vital to remember he only played 63 games during the 2019-19 season. Setting a career-high of 22 goals last year, we anticipate he should set another personal record with at least 25 goals this coming season (TheScore, Wilson). Caps’ captain Alex Ovechkin is prepared to win himself another Rocket Richard Trophy this year, and has expressed his desire, and ability to have another 50+ goal season (Gulitti). By a margin of 236 goals, Ovechkin only needs 5 more seasons of 50 goals, or 6 seasons of 40 goals to bypass the all-time goals leader of the Great Wayne Gretzky (894G). With the final year of his contract looming in not-so-distant future, the Capitals front office have already begun playing out some possible scenarios that will need to be played out in order to keep the Great 8 a Capital until retirement. But perhaps the biggest what-if many Caps’ fans are trying to answer involves defenseman Michal Kempny, whom had his season cut short last year due to a hamstring injury he suffered in a March 20th match against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Many, including head coach Todd Reirden, hoped Kempny would be ready in time to make the Opening Night roster for the Capitals, but that is still to be determined, as the blue-liner was still practicing in a non-contact jersey as of September 28th (Khurshudyan). In 71 games played with the Washington Capitals during the 2018-19 season,, Michal Kempny led the team with a +/- rating of 24, tallied 6 goals of his own, and racked up 19 assists, as a defenseman (TheScore, Kempny). However, a number of mid- and off-season acquisitions by the Capitals including Nick Jensen (DET) and Radko Gudas (PHI) and will bolster the Caps’ roster and hopefully this season will play out as well in reality, as it should on paper.

                   The St. Louis Blues did not play their final scheduled preseason game due to a plane malfunction, but did beat the Caps’ on September 27 by a score of 4-3. For those not in the know, the St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup Championship in team history this past June, similarly to the feat the Capitals accomplished in 2018. In true underdog fashion, the Blues went from worst, to first, in a matter of months. Was it the change in bench bosses? The puppy? The mid-practice brawls? Will the Blues fall victim to the infamous Stanley Cup Hangover? St. Louis elected to play eight preseason games (only played seven, see above), and managed to win 4 of 7, including one overtime win versus the Winnipeg Jets. Those 3 losses came resulted from a 2-3 loss to the Capitals, a 1-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, and an especially-embarrassing 4-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Fellow Russian Vladimir Tarasenko (a.k.a. Vladdy) is expected to have a bounce-back season after a seemingly lack-luster 2018-19 season, where he managed to score 33 goals in 76 regular season games (NHL.com). While Tarasenko led the Blues in goals, and points, he has seen a downward trend in goal-scoring since the 2015-16 season, where he scored a career-high 40 goals, and tallied 34 assists. During the 2018-19 playoffs, he scored 11 goals of the teams’ 75 total goals, good enough for second most on the team, but accounted for just 14.6% of total goals scored (NHL.com).

    While the St. Louis Blues and their fans are, of course, hoping to repeat their recent success, the Washington Capitals are out for blood (redemption) after a disappointing first round exit. It seems as though Caps’ PR is keeping on with the #ALLCAPS catch-phrase for this upcoming season, but #2Cups3Years sounds pretty good too.

    Coverage of the game begins at 6:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 6:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop following the Blues’ Stanley Cup Banner Raising at Enterprise Arena in St. Louis, MO.

     

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    Gulitti, T. (2019). Ovechkin talks 50-goal record, catching Gretzky, future with Capitals. https://www.nhl.com/news/alex-ovechkin-chases-wayne-gretzky-hopes-to-score-50-goals/c-308941324.

    Khurshudyan, I. (2019). Michal Kempny doubtful for Capitals’ season opener at Blues because of hamstring injury. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/09/28/michal-kempny-doubtful-capitals-season-opener-blues-because-hamstring-injury/.

    NHL.com. (2019). Vladimir Tarasenko. Retrieved from https://www.nhl.com/player/vladimir-tarasenko-8475765.

    TheScore. (2019). Michal Kempny. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/players/5579.

    TheScore. (2019). Tom Wilson. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/players/2592.

     

  • Capitals News – Roster Moves and Other Notes

    Capitals News – Roster Moves and Other Notes

    Today the Washington Capitals announced some waiver news, as well as some injury news in regards to the roster.

     

    Roster Moves

    First the Capitals announced that Christian Djoos, Liam O’Brien, and Michael Sgarbossa have cleared waivers and have been loaned to the Hershey Bears of the AHL.

    This move comes as no surprise as the Capitals needed to get down to 23 on their roster, and these going to Hershey was always the plan.

     

    Next the Capitals announced that defenseman Michal Kempny has been placed on Injured Non Roster.

    The move brings the Capitals to 23 for their roster, including the Evegny Kuznetsov three game suspension to start the season, and per the Capitals release Kempny can be activated when healthy and that there is no minimum game threshold for how long Kempny can be on the Injured Non Roster.

     

    What does this really mean? With Kuznetsov’s suspension and Kempny’s injury the Capitals have the cap space until after their game against Carolina on Saturday, and will then need to make some more moves before they can play their next game on Tuesday, October 8th against Dallas top make sure they are under the cap.

     

    Capitals News

    In other news for the Capitals, they have announced that John Carlson has been named alternate captain.

    Carlson ranks third among active Capitals players in games played, and is taking over for Brooks Orpik who retired this past summer.

     

    NHL News

    In NHL news the League has announced that San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane has been suspended for the first three games of the season in accordance to Rule 40.4 (Physical Abuse of Officials).

    Under the terms of the CBA, and based on Kane’s average annual salary, Kane will forfeit $112,903.23. The money will be going to the Player’s Emergency Assistance Fund.

     

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  • Game Recap – 2/24/2019 – New York Rangers v. Washington Capitals

    Game Recap – 2/24/2019 – New York Rangers v. Washington Capitals

    New York Rangers (27-26-8 62pts) v. Washington Capitals (34-21-7 75pts)

     

    Game Recap:

    For the Washington Capitals, they finally get to return home but it would be spoiled right away as Chris Kreider would score 21 seconds into the game to give the New York Rangers a 1-0 lead. However, the Capitals would respond late in the period as both Nicklas Backstrom and Michal Kempny would score to give the Capitals 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    Then in the second period it would be a penalty affair that would see Tom Wilson score on the powerplay for his 17th of the season to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead. But then later in the period Brady Skjei would do a blast from the point to beat Pheonix Copley to cut the Capitals lead to one going into the second intermission.

     

    The Rangers would open the period the same way they started the game with a goal 21 seconds into the period, this time by Jimmy Vesey with a knuckler from the point to tie the game. The Capitals would respond with back to back goals from Nic Dowd and Backstrom to give them their two goal lead back. However, on a Carl Hagelin hooking penalty the Rangers would get a weird bounce off of Vladislav Namestnikov for the powerplay goal and reduce the Capitals lead to one again. The with 30 seconds left in the period Skjei would score his second of the game to tie this game at 5 a piece and send the game to overtime.

     

    In overtime, this one would almost go the distance but it would be Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov connecting for the game winner with 40 seconds left in what was a mayhem filled sequence.

     

    Lineups:

    New York Rangers:

    Chris Kreider — Mika Zibanejad — Jimmy Vesey

    Vladislav Namestnikov — Ryan Strome — Jesper Fast

    Filip Chytil — Lias Andersson — Pavel Buchnevich

    Brendan Smith — Boo Nieves — Connor Brickley

    Brady Skjei — Fredrik Claesson

    Marc Staal — Neal Pionk

    Tony DeAngelo — Kevin Shattenkirk

    Henrik Lundqvist

    Alexandar Georgiev

    Scratched: Adam McQuaid, Kevin Hayes

    Injured: Brett Howden (knee sprain)

     

    Washington Capitals:

    Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

    Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

    Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

    Carl Hagelin — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

    Michal Kempny — John Carlson

    Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

    Brooks Orpik — Nick Jensen

    Pheonix Copley

    Braden Holtby

    Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Travis Boyd, Christian Djoos

     

    First Period:

    Rangers Goal – :21 – Chris Kreider (26) from Jimmy Vesey (17) and Mika Zibanejad (35)

    Rangers Penalty – 4:19 – Brady Skjei 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Capitals Goal – 18:42 – Nicklas Backstrom (14) from John Carlson (47) and TJ Oshie (20)

    Capitals Goal – 19:03 – Michal Kempny (6) from Brett Connolly (18) and Andre Burakovsky (11)

     

    End of 1st – NYR – 1       WAS – 2

    Shots              07                07

    Faceoffs         10                05

    Hits               00                  00

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    Capitals Penalty – 1:24 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Hooking

    Rangers Penalty – 3:39 – Lias Andersson 2 minutes for Holding

    Capitals PPG – 5:09 – Tom Wilson (17) from Jakub Vrana (20) and Lars Eller (20)

    Rangers Penalty – 6:01 – Bench (Chris Kreider) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

    Rangers Penalty – 12:47 – Lias Andersson 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 12:47 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 15:50 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Slashing

    Rangers Goal – 18:18 – Brady Skjei (5) from Connor Brickley (2) and Lias Andersson (4)

     

    End of 2nd – NYR – 2        WAS – 3

    Shots               20                 20

    Faceoffs          17                 16

    Hits                 12                  13

    PP                   0/2                  1/3

     

    Third Period:

    Rangers Goal – :21 – Jimmy Vesey (15) from unassisted

    Capitals Goal – 2:25 – Nic Dowd (6) from Travis Boyd (12) and Brooks Orpik (4)

    Capitals Goal – 3:01 – Nicklas Backstrom (15) from unassisted

    Capitals Penalty – 4:54 – Carl Hagelin 2 minutes for Hooking

    Rangers PPG – 6:01 – Vladislav Namestnikov (8) from Neal Pionk (16) and Anthony DeAngelo (18)

    Capitals Penalty – 6:23 – Matt Niskanen 5 minute major for Fighting

    Rangers Penalty – 6:23 – Dylan Strome 5 minute major for Fighting

    Capitals Penalty – 6:23 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Roughing

    Rangers Penalty – 6:23 – Ryan Strome 2 minutes for Roughing

    Rangers Penalty – 6:23 – Anthony DeAngelo 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 6:23 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct

    Capitals Penalty – 16:17 – Brooks Orpik 2 minutes for Roughing

    Rangers Penalty – 16:17 – Connor Brickley 2 minutes for Roughing

    Capitals Penalty – 16:17 – Brooks Orpik 2 minutes for Cross Checking

    Rangers Goal – 19:29 – Brady Skjei (6) from Kevin Shattenkirk (18) and Mika Zibanejad (36)

     

    End of 3rd – NYR – 5         WAS – 5

    Shots              30                   32

    Faceoffs        29                    28

    Hits               16                     20

    PP                 1/4                    1/3

     

    OT:

    Capitals Goal – 4:20 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (16) from Alex Ovechkin (28)  and Dmitry Orlov (15)

     

    End of OT – NYR – 5         WAS – 6

    Shots              31                   35

    Faceoffs        30                    28

    Hits               16                     20

    PP                 1/4                    1/3

     

    Next Up:

    Washington (35-21-7 77pts) v. Ottawa (22-34-5 49pts)

    NY Rangers (27-26-9 63pts) v. Tampa Bay (47-11-4 98pts)

  • 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)