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WSH 4, BUF 3 (SO) - Ovechkin and Kuznetsov Remain Hot |
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Hello All,
The Washington Capitals defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 (SO) on Friday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. Other than a couple miscues by the boys in red, this game was ALL CAPS. As you will see below, the Caps held statistical advantages in essentially ever measure and by a substantial amount. Anytime a team can go 55% or higher on "Corsi For %" and essentially double the opposing teams shots and higher danger chances, its usually a good day that team.
The Stats:
Shots on Goal:
WSH – 40
BUF – 23
Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 29
BUF – 16
Corsi For %:
WSH – 56.64%
BUF – 43.36%
Corsi For % (5v5):
WSH – 58.14%
BUF – 41.86%
Power Play:
WSH – 0/1
BUF – 0/1
Hits:
WSH – 20
BUF – 12
Blocks:
WSH – 12
BUF – 9
Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 32
BUF – 23
Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 25
BUF – 18
High Danger Chances For:
WSH– 15
BUF – 7
High Danger Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 10
BUF – 5
My Takeaways:
Alex Ovechkin Strikes Again - There was a time this season where Ovechkin was ice cold. Over the course of 8-games from January 24th-February 17th, Ovechkin only scored in one game. He scored twice against Nashville on February 15th. For a guy that has averaged 0.611 goals/game for his entire 17 year career, that 8-game goal drought was well below his standard. Ovechkin has rebounded extremely well since than. Over his last 14-games following that 8-game drought, Ovi has scored 10G-5A-15P. Looking even closer, he has scored 5-goals in his last 6-games. Sprinkle in a couple shootout game winners and we can objectively say this guy is on fire. Last night Ovechkin scored a cruical goal to tie the game near the end of the second. It was again his patented "quick rip" through traffic off an offensive zone draw win. Here is his goal last night courtesy of the Washington Capitals Twitter Account:
I know I am bias when I say but this I friggin love this guy. A Caps win AND an Ovechkin goal?! Let's go! Ovi has now scored 771 career goals. He is 30 goals away from tying Gordie Howe for 2nd all-time. He is 123 goal away from tying Wayne Gretzky for most all-time. It will be here before you know it. Once he gets within double digit goals of Gretzky, reality will set in for the doubters that this IS going to happen.
Ilya Samsonov - It wouldnt be a Washington Capitals game without some wacky goaltending. Samsonov played fine. He let in some odd goals but also made some amazing saves. That is who he is. Low floor, high ceiling. Samsonov stopped 10 for 10 low danger shots, 6 for 8 medium danger shots, and 4 for 5 high danger shots. He allowed two rebound shots against. I thought this might be a great game for Samsonov to thrive. Entering the game, Buffalo ranked 25th in the league on the season with 2.63 goals/game. In addition, their power play is also ranked 25th in the league at 18.3%. Sammy somehow still looked average out there. To Samsonov's credit, he played great in the shootout. I give him a C+ grade on the night.
Anthony Mantha - I haven't talked about Mantha enough. Maybe subconsciously I was just waiting for him to "prove" his value. This is one of the larger sample sizes we have seen of Mantha since he has rocked the red. Mantha has 7G-6A-13P in 21GP this season. Since returning from injury on March 3rd, he has scored 5G-2A-7P in 11GP. Mantha seems to be finding his groove on the second line. Him and Backstrom have developed a nice chemistry together as well. Here is the goal:
Very Honorable Mention - Evgeny Kuznetsov notched the primary assist on the Alex Ovechkin goal to tie the game 3-3. With that assist, Kuzy extended his point streak to 11 games (7G-7A-14P). He is one of 10 players this season with a point streak of at least 11 games. Only Nashville's Roman Josi has a longer active streak right now with points in 12 straight games. -CapitalsPR Twitter. This is a career high streak for Kuzy. He is one of the hottest players in the NHL right now. And how about that shootout goal? Holy shirts n pants!
Next up, the Capitals finish off the second half of their back-to-back with a home game against the fresh New Jersey Devils team. The Devils are coming off a massive win against the New York Rangers. They chased Igor Shesterkin out of net. Vanecek and the defense need to be ready!
That is all. Thanks for reading and GO CAPS!
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Stats/Facts/Video Clips Provided By:
nhl.com/stats
hockey-reference.com
naturalstattrick.com
@CapitalsPR Twitter page
@Capitals Twitter page
@HerseyBears Twitter page
>>>Follow me on Twitter @HB_Capitals<<<
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Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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