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WSH 1, NYR 4 - Caps Can't Solve Shesterkin On The Road |
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Hello All,
The Washington Capitals returned after a full week off and gave us yet another uninspiring performance. The Caps played a decent game statistically but just couldnt find the back of the net. Lets look at the Stats:
Shots on Goal:
WSH – 37
NYR – 21
Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 31
NYR – 19
Corsi For %:
WSH – 58.7%
NYR – 41.3%
Corsi For % (5v5):
WSH – 58.44%
NYR – 41.56%
Power Play:
WSH – 0/4
NYR – 0/2
Hits:
WSH – 17
NYR – 24
Blocks:
WSH – 10
NYR - 10
Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 28
NYR - 22
Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 24
NYR - 19
High Danger Chances For:
WSH – 14
NYR – 11
High Danger Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 12
NYR – 10
Here Are My Takeaways:
Samsonov vs Shersterkin –Samsonov continues to provide inconsistent starts. Last night was not great look for Samsonov truthers if there are any still out there. Samsonov saved 17 shots on 21 shots against. The Rangers scored on 3 of their 8 “high danger shots.” That is a pretty strong conversion for them. Samsonov stopped all 4 “medium danger” shots he faced. Lastly, he allowed one “low danger” goal against last night. Shesterkin was great for the Rangers last night and he once again showed why he is rightfully in the race for the Vezina trophy. This game is a perfect example of what the Capitals lack and why they wont make it past the first round IF they make the playoffs. At this point, the Caps will be lucky to hang on to the Wild card. The Caps need to make a move for a goalie at the deadline or we need to get Vanecek healthy and back asap.
Powerless Power Play – The Caps once again went 0-4 on the power play. Heading into last nights game, the Caps were actually playing relatively better on the PP. They were ranked 12th for February at 21.7%. On four power plays last night, the Caps mustered up 4 shots on goal, and only 2 high danger chances. That’s not the worst I have ever seen but certainly not the best. Zone entry continues to be a problem. If/when the Caps finally get set up on the power play, they usually are up against the clock and/or the second unit is about to come out. The Rangers have one of the more elite penalty kills in the league, ranking 7th at 83.7%, so I expected the Caps to struggle a bit here.
Caps Slowly Getting Healthy – The Caps saw guys like T.J Oshie and Justin Schultz return to action last night after being sidelined with injuries for quite some time. The injuries for the Caps have been plentiful this season and certainly frustrating. Even in a flat loss, I am optimistic about getting key guys back to the lineup. Oshie is such a vital player for the Caps both on 5v5 but of course on the power play.
Ultimately this game is defined by mediocre goaltending by the Caps and just an overall flat effort that has unfortunately become the norm with this veteran Caps squad. It is frustrating, it is boring, and it is painful. The Rangers are a great squad. I think they could legitimately win the Stanley Cup. I may have just puked as I wrote that. All jokes aside, this Rangers club reminds me a lot of the Young Guns Caps squad (Ovi, Backstrom, Green, Semin) that offensively lit up the league for the better part of a decade.
Honorable Mention – Ovechkin scored his 32nd goal of the season. He is now 4-goals from tying Jaromir Jagr for 3rd all-time and 5-goals away from passing him. In addition, Ovechkin is only 133 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky. Ovechkin is on contract for four more seasons after this season. IF the season stopped today, he would only have to average 33 goals a season to tie Gretzky. 33. That’s it. It is no longer a matter of IF Ovechkin passes Gretzky, more so just WHEN.
Dis-honorable Mention – ESPN’s coverage on this game was terrible. They really leaned into the Wilson thing which fine…I get it. But read the room and go to plan B, plan C, etc. There are much bigger things going on in the world right now and I think both teams just wanted to put their heads down and play some competitive divisional hockey.
That is all, thanks for reading and GO CAPS
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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