With one of their new additions in the line-up on Saturday, the Washington Capitals fell 5-2 to the Buffalo Sabres in the last of a six-game homestand. Carl Hagelin made his debut after being acquired by General Manager Brian MacLellan from the Los Angeles Kings playing 12:33 mostly on the fourth line. The Caps went 3-3 on the road in a crucial time. I was hoping for 6 points as they did, but the loss to Buffalo stings a little considering the trajectory of the team the previous two games.
Buffalo got out to a 2-0 lead and the Capitals never really much recovered twice coming within one but the Sabres just proved to be too much for the Caps as they looked like a group weary from 12-days on the road. Alex Ovechkin scored his 44th to extend his lead in the Rocket Richard race and Andre Burakovsky scored his 8th and seems to have been gaining traction since his name has been swirling in trade rumors with 2 goals and 4 assists his last 9 games. Ovechkin was a force firing 8 shots and registering 5 hits in the game and Braden Holtby likely kept the score lower than what it could have been, though he would like to have a couple goals back. Lots of traffic and tipped shots by the Sabres were causing fits for the Caps defense.
Since the All-Star break, Washington is 6-4-1 and while they have the same record as they did last season at this time, they weren’t giving up the goals against they are this year and the penalty killing units were marginally better. So while the record is decent, they have to improve in these areas to be a serious contender again. The additions of Hagelin and Jensen were made specifically with these issues in mind.
Some good signs are being found around the league these days and the Caps have some pretty clever fans…
So the Kuzy sign is back, and it brought a friend 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/3PGlgC9qzm
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) February 23, 2019
While the Caps ended their long road trip, they do not have much time to rest up as they are right back at it today in another early start vs the 27-26-8 New York Rangers. Expect Pheonix Copley to start in goal with the back-to-back games.
With the Caps loss yesterday coupled with a Columbus victory, things tightened up the standings again in the Metro. If they can get any tighter that is. Sitting with 75 points, the Caps are four points back of 1st but are only two up on 3rd place Columbus. Only seven points separate the first place New York Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins who are not currently in a playoff spot so it’s vital the Caps get on a roll here.
It is expected Nick Jensen will make his debut today in a Caps uniform wearing number 3. GM MacLellan added Jensen yesterday after acquiring Hagelin in a shrewd move done to help the defense this year and down the road as he was signed almost immediatly to a 4-year $10M contract extension.
Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen meets the media for the first time with Washington
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 23, 2019
Per Todd Reirden - Jensen will make his #Caps debut tomorrow against the New York Rangers#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/wataM1VYoI
Note the early start time of 12:30PM EST from Capital One Arena.
Capital Gain:
The Caps farm team in AHL Hershey is on fire right now. They have only lost once (In a shootout) in the last 17 games and are currently on an 11-game wining streak. The Bears will look for their next win today at 3PM vs Bridgeport who they beat last night.
Bears Beat IceHogs 3-2 In Shootout; Extend Winning Streak to 11 Games and Points Streak to 17 Games https://t.co/LpCkqla4H5
— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) February 24, 2019
Nick Jensen will wear No. 3 with Washington. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/4t8Y8ixdGL
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 22, 2019