After beating the Rangers on Monday, the Caps were back home Wednesday to play … the Rangers.
Kevin Hayes gave the Rangers the lead about 14 minutes into the game. In the final minutes of the first, Brooks Orpik caused a turnover in the neutral zone that resulted in an Andre Burakovsky goal after a nice feed from TJ Oshie.
Goals RSVP’d as a no for the second period. Actually, they probably replied as “interested” on Facebook.
Ryan Spooner put the Rangers on top 2-1 about halfway through the third period. Lars Eller, the extra attacker, tied the game up with 1:05 remaining.
Evgeny Kuznetsov buried one during three-on-three.
Caps win 3-2!
- Shane Gersich sure did have some energy tonight. He looked like a guy trying to make an impression in his first NHL game or something like that.
- The Caps first goal happened because Brooks Orpik took a risk in the neutral zone and it paid off. I cringed as he did it, and thank goodness TJ Oshie was there to secure the loose puck, but there’s no denying that decision started the sequence that led to the goal.
- Speaking of Oshie, he was great tonight. He was as determined as I’ve seen him in a while (not that he’d been slacking) and just relentless in puck pursuits.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov had a penalty shot in the first period. Why didn’t he just carry the puck in on his stick and try to score?
- How great was Lars Eller on the tying goal?
- This backup goalie for the Caps played really well tonight. I tell ya, they might have themselves a player in this Braden Holtby guy.
- Mike Milbury is just awful in the booth. No, I don’t think he’s biased. I just think he’s awful. I’m not even going to bold his name in this bullet. Take that, Michael.
- I know, we talk about lineup decisions a lot. But when they are indicative of a trend, they matter. Lineup decisions become particularly important in the playoffs. Lineup decisions can lead to, I dunno, Mike Weber costing your team the game while a guy like Nate Schmidt sits in the press box. So yeah, Barry’s current lineup decisions are concerning given his history and how close we are to the playoffs.
21 skaters have skated 200-plus minutes at 5v5 this season for the Caps. For no reason at all (none!) here’s the top 4 in goals/60 https://t.co/zgz2JHwpOD pic.twitter.com/3PFZxiESFC
— Pat Holden (@pfholden) March 28, 2018
- Young Chris had his fantasy baseball draft tonight. I’m looking forward to getting the details from him and critiquing (ridiculing) his selections. Fantasy baseball > fantasy hockey, don’t @ me. Speaking of fantasy hockey, I hope Chris does better in his baseball league than he did in our Crashers’ Patreon fantasy hockey league. You should ask him where he finished.
Here’s your #MikeMilburyLookingLikeADeerInHeadlightsPicOfTheNight pic.twitter.com/7jT7JziR9j
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) March 29, 2018
Full Coverage of Caps vs Rangers
Headline image: Patrick McDermott
