Hello All,
In a game that had a playoff vibe to it, the Washington Capitals prevailed over the Boston Bruins 2-1 in the shootout. The Capitals are now 7-1-1 in their last nine games and are currently riding a four game winning streak. The Boston Bruins are 2-5-0 in their last seven games.
Here are the stats from the game today:
Shots on Goal:
WSH – 28
BOS – 19
Faceoff %:
WSH – 47.5%
BOS– 52.5%
Power Play:
WSH – 0/2
BOS – 0/2
Hits:
WSH – 28
BOS - 26
Blocks:
WSH – 12
BOS – 9
Corsi For:
WSH – 55
BOS – 43
Corsi For (5v5):
WSH – 41
BOS – 36
Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 30
BOS – 18
Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 19
BOS – 14
High Danger Chances For:
WSH – 9
BOS – 4
High Danger Chances For: (5v5):
WSH – 5
BOS – 4 Here are my takeaways from the game:
Goaltending Dual– This game featured rookie Vitek Vanecek against the veteran Tuukka Rask from Boston. The score was 0-0 and shots were only 11-9 in favor of the Capitals heading in to the third period. Even with low shot totals, both goalies were tested throughout the game and each respectfully came up with timely saves when their teams needed it. I thought Tuukka Rask looked amazing last night. He stopped countless high quality, high danger opportunities that the Capitals threw at him. Some of his saves in overtime were just ridiculous! This is just another reason why the Boston Bruins are so dangerous. Even when they have an “off… night, their goaltending is elite enough to keep them in games they might not be playing their best and give them a chance to win.
In regard to Vitek Vanecek, I mean what more is there to say about this kid? He is a beast! He made countless saves when he needed to and what’s really important to me is he did not allow any soft goals. Those can be killers and back breakers in this type of playoff style hockey game. According to CapitalsPR, Vitek Vanecek is 5-1-1 since February 16th with a 1.84 goals against average and a .928 save percentage. During that span, he ranks tied for first in the NHL in wins, third in goals against average and sixth in save percentage among goaltenders with at least five games played.
Complete Game by the Caps– For whatever reason, this game had a playoff vibe to it. It was heavy, physical, low scoring, and featured some incredible goaltending from both teams. The Capitals stuck to their brand and had a very strong first period. The Boston Bruins did not register an official shot on net until 4:32 left in the first period. If you include Overtime, the Capitals also only allowed 19 shots on net for the entire game. For the Capitals to do that to a team like Boston, that is quite impressive. This was the lowest shot total against the Capitals for the entire season. In addition, I thought the defense played fantastic last night. It wasn’t perfect and it never will be, but the Caps defense did more than enough to slow down the Bruins top-line and team as a whole. I expect the Bruins to come out strong next game. The Bruins lost to the Rangers 6-2 two games ago and they bounced back for a dominating 4-1 win. The Bruins will certainly look to have a similar response against the Capitals on Friday.
Alex Ovechkin– Although Ovechkin did not score last night, he had plenty of quality chances. Ovechkin was the first star of the game with 5 SOG and 6 Hits. He was everywhere on the ice last night. I talked about it my last recap but Ovechkin is no where near where he usually ranks in the league for shots on goal. He is always at the top and he needs to shoot more if he wants to continue his quest for Gretzky's record aka immortality. Even though Ovechkin currently ranks 23rd in the league with 70 shots on goal right now, he does rank 3rd in the league with 33 shots on goal since February 16th. Do not panic, Caps fan, the goals will start coming here soon! Ovechkin gave Trent Frederic the business late in the third period. Overall, not a cool move by Ovechkin to spear a dude right in the nutter butter. I am not mad about it. I would have rather just watched him give Frederic the ol Svechnikov treatment. Ovechkin had a chance to fight Frederic in the early part of the third period but Ovechkin essentially declined after Frederic dropped is gloves. Frederic is a big boy and while I would love to see Ovechkin go toe to toe with him, its beneath Ovechkin to fight someone like that at that point in the game. In addition, if you recall the last time the Capitals and Bruins played, it was Frederic who challenged Tom Wilson late in the game. The fight provided a spark for the Bruins and they mounted a comeback against the Caps in a game they were trailing. Frederic was clearly trying to do the exact same thing here. Heads up move by Ovechkin to decline and just resort to a cheap shot to the groin instead later in the game. I was not sure which Capitals team was going to show up for this game. The Capitals were 6-1-1 heading into this tilt against the Bruins, but five of those seven games were against the Devils, Rangers, and the Sabres. The Bruins are 2-5-0 since February 13th. It was fair to ask ourselves, are the Capitals really playing elite hockey right now or is this just a mirage and they are beating up on younger inferior teams? I believe it is a mixed bag. The next game on Friday will be the ultimate test. The Bruins are one of the best teams in the league but they are not playing consistent hockey right now. The Capitals need to take advantage of the Bruins during this rough stretch of games for Boston. No game is a gimmie but id rather face the Bruins that are 2-5-0 their last seven games, not 5-2-0.
That is all for today. Thanks for reading and Go Caps!