Hello All,

I hope everyone is well today! The Washington Capitals fell to the New York Rangers 5-2 on Tuesday night. It was a game the Capitals were certainly the better team in a majority of statistical categories as you will see here shortly. However, we have to give credit to the New York Rangers. New York was able to create and take advantage of turnover after turnover from the Washington Capitals. That combined with a very sturdy performance from Igor Shestyorkin, ended up being the difference in the game. No lead is safe for the Washington Capitals. The resilience and ability to battle back from the Rangers aka the youngest team in the NHL is quite impressive.

Here are the stats from the game:

Shots on Goal:

WSH – 32

NYR – 27


Shots on Goal (5v5):

WSH – 25

NYR – 23


Faceoff %:

WSH – 55.8%

NYR – 44.2%


Power Play:

WSH – 1/3

NYR – 0/2


Hits:

WSH – 14

NYR - 19


Blocks:

WSH – 11

NYR – 13


Scoring Chances For:

WSH – 27

NYR – 21



Scoring Chances For (5v5):

WSH – 21

NYR – 16



High Danger Chances For:

WSH – 12

NYR – 11


High Danger Chances For: (5v5):

WSH – 12

NYR – 9


Giveaways:

WSH - 6

NYR – 7

Here is my main takeaway from the game

Turnovers –There are two sides of the coin here. The Capitals committed unforced errors and the Rangers were able to take advantage. Not only were the Rangers able to take advantage, but they also scored all of their first three goals on the ensuing play after said turnovers. For the Capitals, Orlov could have handled the puck better at the point on the first goal, Chara could have not committed to such a dangerous pass on the second goal, and Oshie could have done a much better job clearing the puck out of the zone. There was no sense of urgency from Oshie there. I am gonna go ahead and call that play flat out lazy. For the Rangers side of things, Chytil applied pressure on Orlov to commit the turnover and earn a breakaway. I still think Orlov could have got rid of that puck a full 1-2 seconds before Chytil got there. On the 2nd goal, Panarin had his eyes on Chara the entire time and timed up the pick-off perfectly. Chara should know better but that was well done by the breadman. On the third goal, the Rangers were applying pressure and were somehow able to keep it in the zone. Oshie had a chance as clear as day to lift it off the boards and into the neutral zone. The ensuing play was a nifty pass and incredible finish by Adam Fox. Big picture here: yes, the Capitals absolutely shot themselves in the foot with the turnovers. But give credit to the Rangers for taking advantage on the opportunities that ensued, none of the goals and opportunities were gimmies.

Igor Shestyorkin - I thought the kid played well again last night. I watched the Rangers Flyers game from Saturday, and I thought he also looked really solid. He seems to be heating up and he certainly kept the Rangers in it early when the Capitals were all out buzzing. It’s a miracle this game wasn’t 3-0 or 4-0 in favor of the Caps after the first period.

Looking ahead, the Capitals face the Islanders TONIGHT. The Caps are 3-0-0 against the Islanders this season. I will post a preview later today.

Thanks for reading and Go Caps

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