The Washington Capitals played their third game against the New York Islanders on Sunday in desperation, which is not necessarily the same as a good game.
Anders Lee got the islanders on the board with a bit of tenacity at first, but the Caps responded in the second period when Kuznetsov lost a snipe from Backstrom’s power play spot. Braden Holtby turned off the lights to keep the caps alive in overtime, but Matt Barzal won it in overtime.
Lose caps. Islands lead the series 3-0.
- Sunday was the NHL debut of Brian Pinho. He replaced Travis Boyd and was fine. However, this was not the effective transition we were promised. More on that in a moment.
- It was a very bad first period. The caps have played worse than ever this postseason. During the 5v5 game, the islands scored 93 percent of the expected goals for the Caps’ 7. The Caps imposed three penalties, and in all fairness they played better during the PK than they did at even strength. A note in particular:
Evgeny Kuznetsov: 5:18 5v5 TOI, 0 / -8 CF, 0 / -7 shots, 0 / -1 goals, 0 / -6 SCF, 0 / -5 HDCF
– Chris Cerullo (@ CJC_95) August 16, 2020
Kuzy’s stick blade looks like it has a groove or black tape for added feel. Interesting. pic.twitter.com/Lv7ARQ08rl
– Ian Oland (@ianoland) August 16, 2020
- Still, the top line currently being built (Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson) is not a major threat during the 5v5 game. They were matched up pretty aggressively, but he called Pelech / Pulock D-pair in a funny way and followed all four lines of how much they drove the game. I’d rather see Ovi with Eller and Kuznetsov with Oshie.
- The Caps PK remains good. But also busy. I’d rather they be fine and rarely used.
- Braden HoltbyYou probably wanted to put on the bench put up a .968 during regulation by stopping 30 of 31 shots. The team needed such an effort and Holtby delivered. The team squandered it.
- In retrospect, I really want it Jakub Vrana scored on his chance in extra time.
#JoeBSuitOfTheNight #CapsIsles A shiny white suit for game three! pic.twitter.com/ThZqXfb9g7
– Ian Oland (@ianoland) August 16, 2020
I don’t get it The Caps had every reason to enter the game on Sunday with conviction. Sure, they looked fine at some point, but their failure to put together a solid hour of competent play is why they are now in a 3-0 hole that they are unlikely to be able to escape, and that is why why this is version the team cannot survive next season.
Puppy Until Tuesday.
Full RMNB coverage of the third WSH / NYI game
