Hello All,
The Washington Capitals lost to the Boston Bruins 4-2 on Thursday night. There are little to no positives to take away from the game but lets give it a go.
Here are the stats from the game:
Shots on Goal:
WSH – 33
BOS – 32
Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 23
BOS – 24
Faceoff %:
WSH – 41.7%
BOS – 58.3%
Power Play:
WSH – 2/7
BOS – 1/4
Hits:
WSH – 26
BOS - 19
Blocks:
WSH – 18
BOS– 9
Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 31
BOS – 25
Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 17
BOS – 18
High Danger Chances For:
WSH – 9
BOS – 9
High Danger Chances For: (5v5):
WSH – 8
BOS – 7
Takeaways:
WSH - 6
BOS – 11
Here are my takeaways from the game:
Special Teams: The Capitals had seven total power plays. I do not have the stats but that is likely the highest total of opportunities during one game this season. It took until the Capitals 6th and 7th power plays to score their PPG goals against the Bruins. 2 for 7 isn’t terrible but the Capitals couldn’t seem to get much going on the PP other than those two quick strikes. According to naturalstattrick, the Capitals only mustered up 4 SOG and ZERO high danger chances during the seven power plays. That is just not gonna cut it. The Bruins got a late PP in a 3-2 game to go up 4-2 with only a couple minutes left in the game. That was pretty much the nail in the coffin for the Caps last night. I also painfully have to admit that Brad Marchand’s SHG was pretty nice. Gotta give credit where credit is due, that was filthy.
Alex Ovechkin – Ovechkin scored his 20th goal of the season last night on the power play. This officially moved Ovechkin up into sole possession for 2nd most power play goals in all-time NHL history. He now has 266 career power play goal and is only eight away from tying Dave Andreychuk for 1st all-time. Dave Andreychuk scored 274 PPG’s in 1,639 games played, Ovechkin is only at 1,188 games played. Whether you are a Caps fan or not, you have to appreciate just how incredible this is. Here is the graphic:
As it relates to the game, Ovechkin was tied for the team lead in shots, had 3 hits on the game which was T-3rd on the team, and he also blocked a shot. Overall, it was a pretty productive game from Ovi
New Faces on the Bruins Stat Sheet – The goaltender Swayman looked solid. I guess Halak is out for COVID but ill take Swayman over Halak any day of the week considering how much Halak owns the Caps. Lauzon and Blidh both scored their first goals of the season for the Bruins. Both goals were meh.
Overall, the game was pretty even. The Bruins got some bounces, and the Capitals didn’t. The Capitals failed to generate consistent quality scoring chances on their seven power plays and that failure to convert on those opportunities was certainly a key difference in the game. To Boston's credit, they do possess the leagues best PK at 87.7%.
The Capitals have not defeated a team that currently sits in a playoff spot since March 16th when they beat the Islanders 3-1. The only teams the Capitals have beat since March 16th are the Rangers and the Devils. That’s it. I am not going to freak out or anything, but the Capitals need to show they can beat a playoff team. If they lose to Buffalo tonight, consider my panic meter rising dangerously high.
Thanks for reading and Go Caps
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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