NHL

Caps Recap: Early Struggles Continue Against Panthers

Well, it could have been worse. The Capitals were unable to keep the winless Panthers at bay, losing 6-5 in the shootout. But there’s comfort in this. Just remember how a shootout loss looked terribly unlikely during the first period. “I didn’t think we were emotionally invested in the game in the first period and that changed to start the second and moving forward,” Capitals head coach Todd Reirden said.

Panthers’ Vincent Trocheck scored first? No problem. An answering goal from John Carlson – his fourth already this season – solved that. Braden Holtby and the Capitals defense allowed three goals in under three minutes? Ok, that looked a little bleak. Holtby did not return for the second period with Pheonix Copley taking over.

Copley’s first showing against the Devils left something to be desired and it was unclear how well this was going to go. However, he was able to make some crucial stops that kept the Caps in the game. One sprawling split save on an Aleksander Barkov attempt proved his talent.

Grinder Goals

The Panthers struggled in the second period, very similar to their recent match against the Flyers. They were ahead and then let the opposing team walk in and take over. Starting goaltender James Reimer was pulled before the end of the second and replaced by Michael Hutchinson.

It was the Capitals third line that had themselves a night. Brett Connolly scored a tight-angle, blocker-side goal on a pass from the point by Jakub Vrána. Just an assist wasn’t good enough for Vrána, however. Almost halfway through the second, Vrána scored from his knees for his first goal of the season.

Until the second period of last night’s game, Devante Smith-Pelly had been on the fourth line. His goal came when Reirden shifted him to the top line with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. While he had seven goals during the 2017-18 Stanley Cup run, this one broke a 35-regular-season-game goalless streak.

Weird and Wild

As if going down by three goals and then answering all three of those goals wasn’t weird, there was more. Ovechkin took a penalty, followed by a too many men penalty that left the Caps dealing with a five-on-three. Jonathan Huberdeau scored with eight seconds left on the Ovechkin penalty, which left the Caps chasing the lead again. It was unfortunate, but not the worst. But less than a minute later, Kuznetsov took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for having too much to say to one of the linesmen.

Not to be outdone, the Capitals did manage to tie the game back up with just 1:25 remaining. A power play and a pulled goalie allowed Nicklas Bäckström to score the six-on-four goal right on Hutchinson’s doorstep. In a game where the Caps were losing by three, they sent it to overtime and a shootout.

However, a loss is still a loss. Let’s roll onto the next one.

Up Next

And so begins the Western Canada road trip. The Capitals will face the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena beginning at 10 p.m. EST. With the Capitals past few performances, it’s hard to say what team is going to show up for the evening. Holtby will likely start and the lines might look similar to those after the shuffle during the Panthers game.

Vancouver will still be without Elias Pettersson who was selected fifth overall in the 2017 NHL Draft. He suffered a concussion during a game against the Florida Panthers earlier in the month. While his presence is missed, the Canucks don’t seem to be suffering too much without him. They’re still able to get the win in his absence and that’s where it counts.

Social Media

Follow Jess on Twitter: @jmstarr_

Photo Credit

Photo Courtesy of Manuel Balce Ceneta