Hello All,

The Washington Capitals fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs on home ice by a score of 5-3. The Capitals have now lost six straight games at home and were winless on home ice in the month of February. With that being said, this was one of the better collective efforts I have seen from the Caps in all of 2022.

Here are the stats from the game:

Shots on Goal:
WSH – 33
TOR – 28

Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 21
TOR – 21

Corsi For %:
WSH – 48.33%
TOR – 51.67%

Corsi For % (5v5):
WSH – 43.53%
TOR – 56.47%

Power Play:
WSH – 1/3
TOR – 0/4

Hits:
WSH – 39
TOR – 23

Blocks:
WSH – 16
TOR - 13

Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 28
TOR - 34

Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 14
TOR - 26

High Danger Chances For:
WSH – 10
TOR – 13

High Danger Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 7
TOR – 12

My Takeaways:

Improving Special Teams – The Capitals once again scored on the power play. Not only that, but they had tons of chances. Specifically, the Caps outchanced the Maple Leafs 8-2 on their respective power plays. They also had a 6-4 shot advantage. Overall, I was impressed with the power play. They got the puck in deep and had plenty of time to set up, they moved and passed the puck with intent, and they were generating tons of scoring chances. All-in-all, that is a strong recipe for success over time. In addition to the PP, the penalty kill came up huge. The Leafs have the best power play in the league and the Caps limited them to four shots total on four power plays. The PK also did a great job collapsing and clearing the puck. The Leafs really couldn’t get anything going.

Ilya Samsonov – Samsonov looked terrible…again. I was once a Ilya Samsonov truther, but man do I cringe everytime he starts now. Samsonov allowed three goals on 10 shots in the first period and was ultimately pulled. The Caps had just that day called Vanecek back after a conditioning stint with the Hersey Bears. I thought it was interesting that Lavi pulled Samsonov so quick, and for a guy like Vanecek who not only just returned from injury but played last night! I think that goes to show you Laviolette's temperature with Ilya Samsonov right now. Vanecek looked absolutely amazing the rest of the game. All Hail, Vanecek.

Tom Wilson – Toronto Native Tom Wilson scored two beautiful goals against his hometown team. He scored a power play goal AND a short-handed goal. He finished with 2-goals 4 SOG and 7-hits. I love him. Wilson is on pace for career highs in points, goals, and assists.

Outworked – The Caps played a fantastic game but their were lapses of energy and effort. The Leafs manhandled the Caps players at the end of the first period and scored a goal with 1.6 seconds left. Absolutely unacceptable. Again late in the third, John Tavaras outmuscled the Caps and found an open man. With just a little bit more muscle and effort, the Caps could have easily avoided both of these situations.

The Capitals schedule for March is pretty brutal. They need to string together some wins and they need to do it ASAP. All in all, this is the best ive felt after a loss all season. It was the first time in the entire year of 2022 that the Capitals have given me hope. I was also not very impressed with Toronto. If last night is any indication of Toronto and their level of play, there is no way they win the Stanley Cup. I could easily see them losing to TB in the first round.

Next Up, the Caps face Carolina on home ice. They will likely be huge underdogs in that one too. Thanks for reading and GO CAPS

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