Hello All,

The Washington Capitals snapped the Colorado Avalanche's 9-game win streak last night with a 3-2 victory at Pepsi Center in Denver, CO. I used to live in Denver and would attend every Caps game when they came to town. If you thought you saw a lot of red jerseys in the crowd on the game feed, it cause the Caps fans always turn out for the game in Denver! The win last night is arguably their most impressive for the month of April, possibly the season. The win also was a vital 2-points at the Caps chase down the Bruins and Pens in hopes to avoid the Florida Panthers in the first round.

Here are the stats from the game:

Shots on Goal:
WSH – 27
COL – 26

Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 25
COL – 20

Corsi For %:
WSH – 46.3%
COL – 53.7%

Corsi For % (5v5):
WSH – 50.55%
COL – 49.45%

Power Play:
WSH – 1/2
COL – 0/3

Hits:
WSH – 34
COL – 39

Blocks:
WSH – 23
COL – 13

Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 23
COL – 33

Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 20
COL – 27

High Danger Chances For:
WSH– 5
COL – 11

High Danger Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 4
COL – 10

My Takeaways:

Shot Blocks - The Capitals had 23-blocks in the game. According to @CapitalsPR twitter, this is tied for the second most blocked shots in a game this season. These blocks were not only plentiful, they were timely. It felt like every time the Avs had an open lane or a clean look at the net, a Caps player was hustling to block the shot. I can think of a specific block in the first period when the Avs were on the power play. The Avs moved the puck around the offensive zone effortlessly and eventually Mikko Rantanen got an open look in the bumper slot down in front of the net. TVR made a sensational diving block to nullify the chance. This is just one of many plays, especially in the first period, where the Caps weathered the Avalance to keep this game close tied. As we all know, the Caps have a history this season of giving up the first goal and digging themselves into multiple goal deficits. I felt like once they survived the first period, it a lot of Caps from there on out. Here are the players with blocks last night:

Justin Schultz - 4
Trevor van Riemsdyk - 3
Nick Jensen - 3
Nick Dowd - 3
Dimitry Orlov - 2
Nicklas Backstrom - 1
Lars Eller - 1
Garnet Hathaway - 1
Johan Larsson - 1
Anthony Mantha - 1
John Carlson - 1
T.J. Oshie - 1 (huge block with 3:11 left in regulation)

Mojo getting his Mojo back? -Marcus Johansson scored what is being tallied as the game-winning goal in the third period. The play was the result of an Avs turnover and the Caps made them pay. Specifically, Conor Sheary really forced the issue and made this play happen. The saucer pass from Sheary to Johansson is what really made this play special. It was a nice finish by Mojo to one-time the puck in the back of the net. Mojo now has a point in two straight games. If he can get rolling and build a little extra confidence just a little bit, that will be huge for the Caps depth in the playoffs.

Damn, Caps! Back at it again with the PK! - The Capitals once again went a perfect 3 for 3 on the penalty kill last night. It wasn't easy, especially in the first period, but the Caps got the job done. This game was a true test of elite special teams going head-to-head. The Avs have the 1st ranked power play in the NHL since March 1st at 34.9%, the third ranked power play in the league since they started their previous 9-game win on March 29th. Since March 1st, the Caps have the third best penalty kill in the league at 86.9%, and the 5th best PK in the league since March 29th at 92%. This was a great test for the Caps against one of the most prolific power plays in the league. I didnt love the zone time and space we gave the Avs in the first period on their first period but they seemed to adjust and do much better on the next two. Now that the Caps are locked in to the playoffs, we can start really assessing the strengths of this club. At the moment, the PK may be one of our biggest assets.

Honorable Mention -

-Ovechkin scored his 48th goal of the season on the power play in the second period. Ovechkin now just needs two goals to hit the 50-goal mark for the 9th time in his career. He also sits at 778 career goals. He now needs 23-goals to tie Gordie Howe, and 116-goals to tie Wayne Gretzky.

-Ilya Samsonov played fantastic. I probably should be giving him more credit and more words but I will keep it simple. He played great, he made the saves AND the stops. Now, if he can churn out a couple more of these down the stretch, I think we will officially have our game-1 starter

Next up, the Capitals travel to Vegas to play the Golden Knights on Wednesday 04/20. The Golden Knights are in virtually a must-win scenario to keep their playoff hopes alive. I expect another playoff type of atmosphere for this game.

I also plan to do a quick write up on the Capitals and their push to Catch the Penguins/Bruins. Hopefully I can get that out tomorrow morning but it just depends on my work schedule. I think it will be a good one when I do get it out.

That is all for today! Thanks for reading and GO CAPS!


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Stats/Facts/Video Clips Provided By:

nhl.com/stats
hockey-reference.com
naturalstattrick.com
hockeyfights.com
@CapitalsPR Twitter page
@Capitals Twitter page
@HerseyBears Twitter page
>>>Follow me on Twitter @HB_Capitals<<<

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