Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Caps 3, Devils 2 - Capitals Step Up to Help Shaky Samsonov Earn Win

February 28, 2021, 8:37 PM ET [3 Comments]
Brian Sickles
Washington Capitals Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Hello All,

The Washington Capitals escaped Prudential Center with a 3-2 win against the New Jersey Devils. The Capitals are now 11-3-1 in their last 15 against the New Jersey Devils and 22-4-2 since the 2014-2015 season. The Capitals are 9-1-0 when leading after two periods this season. This was Ilya Samsonov’s first start for the Caps since returning from the COVID list. Samsonov last started a game on January 17th against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Here are the stats from the game today:


Shots on Goal:

WSH – 23

NJD – 21


Faceoff %:

WSH –67.3%

NJD – 32.7%


Power Play:

WSH – 0/3

NJD – 0/3


Hits:

WSH – 12

NJD – 17


Blocks:

WSH – 12

NJD – 6



Chances For:

WSH – 40

NJD – 48



Chances For (5v5):

WSH – 34

NJD – 41


Scoring Chances For:

WSH – 17

NJD – 21



Scoring Chances For (5v5):

WSH – 15

NJD – 16


High Danger Chances For:

WSH – 8

NJD – 5


High Danger Chances For: (5v5):

WSH – 8

NJD – 2

Once again, the Capitals held a strong advantage in “high danger chances for.” Other than that, the Devils marginally outplayed the Capitals today from the eye test and the advanced stats. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the Devils held a 48-40 Corsi advantage for all situations, and 41-34 at 5v5.

Here are my takeaways from the game:

Ilya Samsonov Season Debut Part 2 – As mentioned above, this was Samsonov’s first game since January 17th. Samsonov has had quite the grind for recovery from COVID. Samsonov said he had difficulty breathing and walking when struggling through his COVID recovery early on. As part of Samsonov’s conditioning rehab to get back to the Caps, he played four games with the Hersey Bears in February. In his four games started, he posted a 3.24 GAA and a .869 SV% in four starts. Not ideal. Looking at Samsonov today, I thought he played okay. Truth be told, I thought the two goals he did let in were a little soft. It was very obvious to me that Samosonov is rusty and will need at least a few games to get settled back in to the speed and pace of the NHL. I thought the team collectively played a fantastic game for Samsonov today. The defense especially stepped up for him this game. With the Devils Trailing by a goal in the third period, the Capitals only allowed four shots on goal. Without the full team effort today, it would have been a long day for Sammy.

Backstrom Continues to Sizzle – Nicklas Backstrom scored his 10th goal of the season. Everyone is waiting for Backstrom to get his 700th career assist but Backstrom has other plans. He continues to shoot the puck when the opportunity presents itself. With teams doubling and shadowing Ovechkin more this season, Backstrom has more time and space to shoot the puck when the team is set up in the offensive zone. Backstrom leads the team with 25 points (10-15-25).

Ovechkin Finally Scores a Goal – Ovechkin scored his 7th goal of the season today. It was his first goal since 02/08. This was about as calm as I have ever seen him act after scoring a goal too. It was nice to see him finally get a goal after such a long time. Hopefully this is the start of a lil heater for him. I plan to do an entire article on this, but Ovechkin has been pretty quiet this season for his goal scoring standards. He is right about on pace for where he was last year for points per game. Last year he had 67 points (48-19-67) in 68 games. That is good for .705 goals per game and .279 assists per game. This year Ovechkin has 17 points (7-10-17) in 17 games played. This is good for .411 goals per game and .588 assists per game. As you can see, his point production overall is consistent year over year but this season he is contributing more on the assist side. This is obviously a small sample size, but it should be noted Ovechkin ranks only 24th in shots on goal this season. Ovechkin is routinely leading the league in shots every season. If he is not first, he is usually second. He did miss four games, but I don’t think he would be near the top even with those games included. Today he made a point to shoot. Ovechkin had 10 shot attempts, 5 shots on goal, and three scoring chances. Expect Ovechkin to start shooting way more in the coming months.

Faceoffs – I try not to dive too much into faceoffs but today the Capitals absolutely dominated the Devils on faceoffs. The Capitals won 37 faceoffs while the Devils only won 18. The Capitals won 12 of 16 faceoffs in the offensive zone, good for 75%. They also won 15 of 22 faceoffs in the defensive zone, good for 68%. These are staggering numbers. Considering how shaky Samsonov was early in this game, those 15 out of 22 faceoff wins in the defensive zone were insanely clutch.

All in all, I thought this was a pretty even game that the Devils slightly outplayed the Capitals. The Caps once again had a really strong start to the game which is a trend that I am loving to see. I am sure Samsonov starting today provided a little extra juice for the boys. Kyle Palmieri had a couple chances to tie this game up late in the third period and he just couldn’t find the back of the net. The Caps are very fortunate this game did not go to OT.

Next up the Capitals head to Boston on Wednesday for a matchup of the top two teams in the East Division. The Capitals lead Boston by 2 points but the Bruins have played two less games than the Capitals. A win Wednesday for the Capitals would go a long way keeping them in the race for the Division as well as for the playoffs.

That is all today, thanks for reading and GO CAPS!
Join the Discussion: » 3 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Brian Sickles
» Ovechkin Breaks Gordie Howe's Record for Most Goals with One Team
» WSH 1, DET 3 - Ovechkin Ties Howe in Detroit
» WSH 0, DAL 2 - Caps Blanked by Oettinger and Stars
» WSH 6, NJD 3 - Washington Capitalizes on Blackwood's Off Night
» WSH 4, LAK 3 - Caps Mount Another Third Period Comeback