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Caps 2, Devils 1 - Goaltending and Defense Shine Bright in NJ

April 3, 2021, 12:28 PM ET [3 Comments]
Brian Sickles
Washington Capitals Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Hello All,

The Washington Capitals headed into the game against the New Jersey Devils coming off arguably one of their worst defensive games of the season. The Devils actually finished up March on a pretty high note. Since March 16th, the Devils are 5-3-2 which is tied for the 7th best record in the NHL over that short window. In that span of games, the Devils defeated the streaking Penguins twice, as well as they defeated the Boston Bruins once. They held a third period 2-goal lead against the Bruins earlier this week but were unable to hang on for the win. The Capitals entered this game 6-0-0 against the Devils this season to date. However, it should be noted 4 of the 6 contests between these two clubs ended up being a one goal game. Last nights game was no different. The Capitals squeaked out a 2-1 win in OT.

Here are the stats from the game:

Shots on Goal:

WSH – 40

NJD – 23


Shots on Goal (5v5):

WSH – 30

NJD – 20


Faceoff Wins:

WSH – 34

NJD – 26


Power Play:

WSH – 0/2

NJD – 0/2


Hits:

WSH – 11

NJD - 11


Blocks:

WSH – 14

NJD– 12


Scoring Chances For:

WSH – 27

NJD – 23



Scoring Chances For (5v5):

WSH – 18

NJD – 17



High Danger Chances For:

WSH – 7

NJD – 9


High Danger Chances For: (5v5):

WSH – 4

NJD – 6


Giveaways:

WSH - 9

NJD – 14

Here are my takeaways from the game:

Vanecek vs Blackwood – I was not surprised to see Vanecek get the start last night. The Capitals were coming off a back to back and Samsonov needed a rest after that onslaught from the Islanders just a night ago. Vanecek did get some playing time against the Islanders where he let in two goals on nine shots in the first period. Vanecek is pretty up and down. Some games he is marvelous, other games he looks just about as average as they get. The defense certainly hasn’t helped a lot lately. For the Devils, MacKenzie blackwood has been playing superb lately. Last nights game was a defensive battle and the goalies came to play. Blackwood faced 40 shots in total and looked pretty strong the entire game. The Devils limited the Capitals to just 7 total “high danger” chances for the entire game, only four of which were at 5v5. Allowing seven “high danger chances” on 40 shots is pretty impressive for the Devils. It is no surprise Blackwood played as well as he did last night. Both goalies played extremely well in overtime, each in their own respect making game-saving stops in the clutch. Blackwood blocked aside Sheary’s breakaway attempt to start overtime. Vanecek made multiple point-blank saves against Hughes and Zajac to keep the game going. It was an exciting overtime period with both goalies putting on a show.

High Danger Chances – While the Capitals were able to muster up 40 shots last night, only a few of them were “high danger” chances. As I mentioned above, only four of those “high danger” chances came at 5v5. That simply is not going to cut it against some of the more elite teams in the division. Maybe the boys were a little fatigued on the second half of the back to back against the young speedy Devils squad, I don’t know. For comparison in the game against the Islanders, the Islanders had 33 SOG against the Capitals and 17 of which were high danger. Now I will admit, that is also abnormally high for the average NHL on a given night. My point being, the Capitals “high danger” chances have started to dip a little bit, they need to get back on track.

John Carlson – Carlson is on a heater right now. With his goal last night, Carlson now has 19 points in his last 20 games. His 10 goals rank 4th in the league amongst all defensemen. His 32 points rank him 2nd among all defensemen. He also had a team high four blocked shots last night. He has 51 total blocked shots on the season which ranks first on the team.

Dmirty Orlov – Orlov has been up and down lately. Statistically speaking his offense has been solid. Including the OT winner last night, he has four point (2G-2A) in his last six games. In this game he was tied for the team lead in shots (6) with Ovechkin. It was Orlov’s 5th goal of the season and his second career OT goal. It is nice to see Orlov producing but I still think he needs to tighten on defensively and make quick decisions. I cant remember who it was for the Devils but someone almost picked Orlov’s pocket again on the blue line for a breakaway. It was either McLeod or Wood but either way it was almost a repeat of the Chytil incident against the Rangers. C’mon Orlov! Be quicker!

The Capitals have the Devils number this season. There is no way to sugar coat it. The Caps are 7-0-0 against the Devils. Five of Seven games have been one goal games. The Devils had a chance to win this one in regulation with about three or four minutes left. Hughes beat Vanecek but the shot hit the post and deflected wide. That is pretty much how the season has gone for the Devils. This was a big game for the Capitals as it relates to the race for the East division title. After a pretty sketchy week from the Caps, it was nice to see a fairly balanced win against a competitive Devils squad of late.

The Capitals face the Devils on Sunday at 3pm ET and look to go for a rare 8-0-0 against one team in a season.

Thanks for reading,
GO CAPS!
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