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WSH 4, VAN 3 (OT) - Kuznetsov Hat-Trick Saves Caps, Ovechkin Stays at 766 |
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Hello All,
The Washington Capitals defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 (OT) in Vancouver. The Capitals blew a 2-goal third period lead but ultimately came back to win the game.
Here are the stats from the game:
Shots on Goal:
WSH – 34
VAN– 26
Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 30
VAN – 24
Corsi For %:
WSH – 49.58%
VAN – 50.42%
Corsi For % (5v5):
WSH – 48.15%
VAN – 51.85%
Power Play:
WSH – 2/3
VAN – 1/3
Hits:
WSH – 23
VAN – 26
Blocks:
WSH – 23
VAN – 13
Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 35
VAN – 22
Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 31
VAN – 20
High Danger Chances For:
WSH– 14
VAN – 9
High Danger Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 11
VAN – 8
My Takeaways:
Power Play Remains Hot – The Capitals went 2/3 on the power play last night. Both goals essentially started from an Ovechkin blast from his office. The puck trickled around the crease on both goals and Kuznetsov was able to tuck them home. The power play essentially rescued the Caps last night after blowing the 2-goal lead in the third. The resurgent Capitals power play has been the catalyst to the recent stretch of consistently great hockey they have played lately. I saw a tweet from Tarik El-Bashir last night and he mentioned the Capitals have scored 15 power play goals in their last 16 games. That is quite impressive considering this the same squad that went 2 for 28 in the month of December and was 31st in the league. Now that the team is healthy, we are starting to see a larger sample size of what this power play unit can do. Now lets just hope the PP isn’t peaking too soon. The season doesn’t end for another 48 days.
Kuznetsov’s Hat Trick – Kuznetsov scored two PPG goals and another freaky unassisted goal. This marks his 2nd career hat-trick. His last hat-trick was on October 15th, 2015. It is pretty insane he hasn’t had at least a couple more. Kuzy now has 9 points in his last 8 games. Here is the hat-trick:
Awesome night, Kuzy!
Ovechkin Stays Tied With Jagr – Ovi had a great game and generated plenty of chances. It appeared he was about to score on the power play rip but kuznetsov tapped it in. I don’t fault Kuzy, you never know with the puck and the ice so its better to just make sure you get the goal. It was a split-second decision and how does one think that fast. Here is the goal I am referring to: OVI WAS SO CLOSE!
Ovechkin had 7 individual scoring chances and three high danger chances last night. He is getting looks! Ovechkin will get another crack at 766 on home ice on Tuesday against the Isles. The Isles have the 7th ranked PK and traditionally do a great job shadowing Ovechkin. I am predicting a 5v5 goal from Ovi on Tuesday.
Resilience – The Caps battled in a tough road game for this one. It was a fairly even game, but the Capitals held a slight edge in shots, scoring chances, and high danger chances at all strengths and 5v5. They deserved to win this game. The Caps are ranked 25th in the league for win percentage after leading after two periods. Not a stat I am happy to stumble upon if I am being honest. Fortunately for the Caps, last night was not the case. Another random stat I found was that the Caps are the 27th ranked team in the league with a .333 win% in 1-goal games. So we just learned two things: 1.) the Caps aren’t the best at closing out games when leading in the third and 2.) they don’t win a lot of 1-goal games. Last night was a great test and defied the season trends in similar scenarios. This should give the guys confidence moving forward that they can indeed win these games.
Next Up, the Capitals are back home to face the New York Islanders at 7:00pm ET. I the Isles have won 3 out of their last 4 games and are starting to get healthy. They are very much still in the mix for a wild card spot. The Caps could really separate themselves from NYI even more with a regulation win on Tuesday. That is all for now. LETS GO CAPS
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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