The Washington Capitals continue their impressive month of March with a come from behind 4-3 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes on the road. Was it a road game though? It sounded like there were more Caps fans than Hurricanes fans there in attendance. The Capitals are now 7-0-1 in the month of March, and 3-0 against the Hurricanes on the season.
Here are the Stats from the game:
Shots on Goal:
WSH – 40
CAR– 20
Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 29
CAR – 14
Corsi For %:
WSH – 58.88%
CAR – 41.12%
Corsi For % (5v5):
WSH – 55.95%
CAR – 44.05%
Power Play:
WSH – 1/3
CAR – 0/1
Hits:
WSH – 31
CAR – 26
Blocks:
WSH – 7
CAR – 10
Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 27
CAR – 20
Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 23
CAR – 17
High Danger Chances For:
WSH– 11
CAR – 8
High Danger Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 7
CAR – 7
Here are my Takeaways:
The Stats - The Capitals held many advantages in the statistical categories last night. They doubled the Hurricanes in shots registered and had a very high “Corsi For Percentage”. The sizzling hot Caps power play scored, while the 7th ranked Hurricanes PP failed to convert on their three opportunities. The Capitals held the Hurricanes to only 14 shots on goal at 5v5. That is pretty insane considering how elite this Hurricanes team is. Even though the Caps had double the shots on net, the Hurricanes still drew even with them as it relates to “high danger scoring chances”. Each team had 7. Both teams were on a back-to-back, but oddly enough it was the older Capitals team who really dictated this game.
Power Play –Even though the Capitals played a dominating game, they still found themselves trailing 3-2 late in the third period. It did not long for the Capitals to get to work after a Vincent Trocheck interference call with just over five minutes left in the game. It was Alex Ovechkin and technically the Caps PP that would ultimately come to the rescue. I say technically because all the rest of the team did was win the faceoff and let Ovi shoot the puck. It took three seconds to score. The Capitals have a power play goal in 14 of their last 19 games. During that span, which started on January 28th, the Capitals’ 31.2 power play percentage (19 goals on 61 opportunities) ranks third in the NHL.
Alex Ovechkin – As mentioned above, Ovechkin scored the game-tying goal late in the third on the power play. He now has 281 career power play goals which is the most in NHL history. He will be well above 300 power play goals when he retires. Crazy. In addition, Ovechkin netted the game-winning shootout goal then lightly taunted the Hurricanes crowd by cupping his hand around his ear. Dude is an absolute legend. Here is the goal and the slight taunt:
The last time I remember him doing this in a similar fashion was in 2012 against the Rangers in game two where he scored the would be game-winning goal after getting a chorus of boos all game:
Torts face haha.
Ilya Samsonov – I have mixed feelings about Samsonov’s performance. He made some spectacular saves last night. The goals he did allow were the result of a series of unfortunate events. On the Hurricanes second and third goals, it was the Caps defense who failed to get the puck out of the zone when there were clearly openings to do so. The Hurricanes being the elite team they are, were able to eventually create turnover which lead to scoring chances/goals. I really cant fault Samsonov for most of these goals. 17 saves on 20 shots isn’t great but there is only so much he could have done. Samsonov stopped 4 of 5 high danger shots against, 3 of 5 medium danger shots against, and 9 of 9 low danger shots against. He did not allow any “rebound shots” last night. I still think Vanecek should be the primary guy moving forward but this win against CAR is an small step forward and likely a huge confidence booster for Samsonov.
Honorable Mention: Evgeny Kuznetsov is on fire. This is the second game in a row he scored an absolute snipe. Here are both goals:
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»