Hello All,

The Washington Capitals defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Thursday night. The game was much tighter than the score indicates, and the Caps were largely outplayed in many aspects of the game. It is strange that somehow in a 3-goal win, the Capitals leave much to be desired.

Here are the stats from the game:

Shots on Goal:
WSH – 23
MTL – 44

Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 18
MTL – 31

Corsi For %:
WSH – 35.24%
MTL – 64.76%

Corsi For % (5v5):
WSH – 36.36%
MTL – 63.64%

Power Play:
WSH – 0/3
MTL – 1/5

Hits:
WSH – 15
MTL – 32

Blocks:
WSH – 15
MTL - 11

Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 22
MTL - 29

Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 18
MTL - 24

High Danger Chances For:
WSH – 5
MTL – 12

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

Here Are My Takeaways:

Joe Snively Scores First NHL Goal – Local product from Herndon, VA, Joe Snively scored his first NHL goal! Snively has been a great addition to the lineup lately. Last night he played on the first line with Kuznetsov and Wilson and saw immediate impact. I have really enjoyed watching Snively when he has played this year. He brings a nice combo of speed and skill. Snively finished with 2G-1A last night and was appropriately honored as the 1st star of the game. Go Joe!

Powerless Power Play - The Caps powerplay stinks. There is a wide variety of aspects of the Capitals game that has become incredibly frustrating over the last couple months, but the power play might be the most unbearable to watch. The Caps again went 0-3 on the power play. The Capitals power play on the season is ranked 29th in the NHL at 15.3%. Since January 1st, the Capitals power play is ranked 27th in the league at 15.6%. A slight improvement for 2022?! Lol. I don’t know what to say at this point. I look forward to getting Oshie and Mantha back in the fold one day, but that wont be anytime soon. Even getting key guys back wont necessarily help. The fundamental entries, movement, and shot generation has been poor all season. Getting Oshie back wont dramatically make things click. Sure, it will make the bumper shot more of a liability for opposing teams to cover. But now much will change.

The Penalty Kill – The Caps killed 1/5 penalties last night. Not bad but not great either. Taking five penalties against the worst team in the league is sus. The Capitals PK continues to dip and now sits ranked 20th in the league on the season. Since January 1st, the Capitals PK ranks 28th in the league at 69.6%. Let’s take an even more microscopic look at the PK downward spiral. In February, the Capitals have been short handed 14 times. They have given up 7 power play goals. Not only have they taken the most penalties for the the month of February, but they have only killed 50% of those penalties. HSP! (Holy Shirts n Pants!)

The Capitals did what they were supposed to do and they defeated the 8-win Canadiens squad. However, the Capitals were dominated all game. If the Canadiens goaltending was anything close to competitive last night, the Capitals likely lose this game. No offense to Cayden Primeau from Montreal but that was not his best game. I think Montreal has a lot to be excited about moving forward in the Martin St. Louis era. That was a strong effort for them to build off of. Next Up, the Capitals host the Ottawa Senators on home ice for super bowl Sunday.

Thanks for reading and GO CAPS!

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