The Washington Capitals lost a critical game to the New York Islanders last night. The Capitals had a chance to seize an opportunity and pass the Penguins in the standings and they fell flat in what should have been very winnable game given how they have played lately. The Caps essentially need to win their last two games of the season to pass the Penguins and avoid Florida in the first round.
Here are the stats from the game:
Shots on Goal:
WSH – 33
NYI – 26
Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 27
NYI – 18
Corsi For %:
WSH – 56.52%
NYI – 43.48%
Corsi For % (5v5):
WSH – 58.7%
NYI – 41.3%
Power Play:
WSH – 0/4
NYI – 2/2
Hits:
WSH – 21
NYI – 18
Blocks:
WSH – 12
NYI – 17
Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 23
NYI – 29
Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 20
NYI – 20
High Danger Chances For:
WSH– 9
NYI – 11
High Danger Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 7
NYI – 7
My Takeaways:
Caps Come Out Flat in Critical Game - For whatever reason, the Caps just didnt have it last night. Possible reasons could be Ovechkin was out, the lines were shaken up, and Samsonov lost his stick. That last part is a joke. Get it...haha. In all seriousness though, what the frank, Washington! You have a chance to move out of the WC2 and you blew it against the 20th ranked team in the league according to standings points. I mentioned this in my last blog but I probably said something along the lines of if the Caps lose either game to the Islanders, they are pretenders and not contenders. If you cant beat non-playoff team in a game that really matters, you realistically dont have a shot in the playoffs. Call it harsh, call it an overreaction, call it whatever you want. All things considered, there is just a cloud hanging out the Capitals after that loss. If Ovi misses games in the playoffs. We are minced meat.
Ilya Samsonov -Its official. Ilya Samsonov is on the "Dunzo List". If you dont know what the Dunzo list is, watch this:
On the Cizikas short-handed goal in the third period, Samsonov did a weird little ballerina spin and didnt even attempt to actually stop any presumable shot on net. Cizikas to his credit made a nifty move laying on the ice. Samsonov needs to take any and all potential shots on goal serious. As I am watching that clip, Samsonov doesn't even look like he cares or even thinks a real shot is about to come on net. Here is a quick clip of the goal from the NYI twitter page:
Dear Ilya Samsonov, we are dunzo. All aboard the Vanecek train. That will be a quick ride too.
Penalty Kill Struggle - The PK gave up a goal on both kills last night. The 16th ranked Islanders PP went 2/2 last night against one of the better PKs in the league as of late. I am mildly alarmed on how easy the Islanders were able to find open guys for clean looks at the net. The Islanders offensive zone time during their PP also alarmed me. If the Caps cant stop the NYI, how the heck are they going to stop the Panthers or the Panthers?
Final Takeaway - There are not much positives to point to in this game so we are just going to move on. With how things shook out last night across the league, it looks like the Caps will likely play either the Panthers or the Rangers in the first round. To be honest, whether we play the Florida or the New York doesn't really make a difference to me at this point. The Rangers have the best goaltending in the league but are just average in terms of 5v5 goals scored. The Rangers are 19th in the league at 5v5 goals scored and have the 4th best power play. The Panthers goaltending is more likely to be exposed. Bobrovsky is 23rd in the league with a .913 SV%. This is for goalies who have played a minimum of 20 games. Bob is also 20th in the league with a 2.67 GAA average. Playoff Bob is real and the Caps have good history against him. However with the Panthers, they are the #1 team in the league at 5v5 scoring, and have the 7th best PP. Pick your poison. If I am the Caps, id rather take my chances in a high scoring series against Florida than one against NYR and Shesterkin. Especially with out goaltending. Shesterkin could probably shutout this Caps team a couple times in a seven game series. If no Ovi...the Caps might not score a goal.
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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