“I actually like the way we played. I thought we played a really strong game. The only thing I’m disappointed in is the outcome. I’m not disappointed in the effort, I’m not disappointed in how we stuck together, our discipline, our demeanor … Everybody was all-in tonight.…
Those were Barry Trotz's words on Tuesday night after the Washington Capitals lost in overtime to the Calgary Flames.
The Caps came back from two one-goal deficits to take the lead off a fluky goal by Marcus Johansson that ricocheted off the boards behind the net, off Jonas Hiller's pad and across the goal line.
That puck luck was something the Caps haven't had in some time, and things were looking up.
Washington played well overall, adding good pressure in the Flames zone and controlling most of the game.
Then, towards the end of the third, Mike Green made a blind, errant pass to Brooks Orpik behind the net where Flames Markus Granlund picked it off and sent it out front. That pass was intercepted by Marcus Johansson, who should really play the lottery now as he attempted to shoot it into the corner, but the puck hit Troy Brouwer's skate and wound up behind Holtby.
How quickly the Hockey Gods change favor.
At that point, the Caps seemed a little dumbfounded, but any confidence they acquired in the ensuing melee at the end of the game was crushed when Jonas Hiller robbed Tom Wilson off of a perfectly timed one-time play that could have won the game in the waning seconds of the third.
Hiller was outstanding. Stopping 31 shots to Braden Holtby's 19.
“You ask the Calgary people and Hiller would be an obvious Vezina candidate,… Trotz said. “He was good tonight.…
Sean Monahan would win it in overtime for the Flames, firing a wrist shot passed Holtby.
It was a deflating loss because the Caps looked good after a talking-to by Trotz following a loss to Arizona. They played better tonight than they have in the last 5, but still made the mistakes, albeit not as many, that has cost them game-after-game.
What should be interesting to watch is how Trotz handles this compared to the last game. After the loss to Arizona, Trotz locked the doors and ripped into his team, asking for a better effort and a complete 60-min game.
"That was a really good effort, but at the end of the day, losing [stinks]," Matt Niskanen said. "That's just the way it is."
A tweak here and a tweak there are no doubt in the cards for the lineup against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. This will be a big test for the Caps and could pave the way for some other changes if they don't keep up and improve upon the effort they gave Tuesday.
An issue that the Caps must be seriously looking at is the goaltending. Whether or not Braden Holtby is up to the task of becoming a serious number one goalie is now in question. He has the skill set and the athleticism, but something is missing, and if Mitch Korn can't fix it, then no one can.
More on that later.
Again, I'll reiterate, it's only November 6th. The Caps have done worse to start a season and come out of it just fine. It's not time to panic... yet.
The Capitals and Blackhawks drop the puck at 8:30pm in Chicago and should be a nice preview to the upcoming Winter Classic.
More to come...
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