The Washington Capitals have been one of the darlings of the NHL. They are always prominently featured on NHL advertisements and they have played a part in a Winter Classic. They have one of the league's superstars in Alexander Ovechkin but despite all of the hype around the team when you get right down to it they haven't accomplished much at all. Apart from one Stanley Cup run back in 1998, the Washington Capitals really have not been that much more successful than the Minnesota Wild. The Capitals have eight division titles to the Wild's one, but considering the Wild have been around 13 seasons compared to Washington's 38 that may just have something to do with it. Washington has been strategically placed by the NHL to be a part of the Metropolitan Division, which is by far the weakest division in the league. Before that Washington was apart of the Southeast (or Southleast depending on who you ask) Division, which was often considered to be the weakest in the league. Why was Washington graced with the luck of being placed in league's easiest divisions? It all has to do with the league's hyped 'rivalry' between the Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins and its star Sidney Crosby. Even though Pittsburgh is equally fueled by Evgeni Malkin, the Crosby / Ovechkin war has the hallmarks of professional wrestling match up. Crosby, the Canadian wunderkind versus the bombastic Russian, the former 'enemy' of North America. That's why the league put them in a division of weaksauce clubs. The Flyers were supposed to be better than they currently are as were the Rangers, but they've both struggled and toss in a bunch of "not quite there" clubs and you have a very weak division. Washington's (who is in 2nd place in the Metropolitan) 16 points would have it sitting in 6th place in the Central Division.
Minnesota has been riding a bit of a hot streak as of late. The Wild have found their offense a bit as of lately and we'll see if it can continue on the road in this 2-game road swing to Washington and Carolina respectively. Can the Wild keep lighting the lamp against the Capitals or will Ovie light up Minnesota instead?
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1st Period Thoughts: The game started out with lots of physical play by the Washington Capitals who wanted to set the tone early as they were finishing checks consistently. Both clubs were somewhat cautious in the offensive zone and not taking any big risks. The Wild would get the first power play of the game as Aaron Volpatti checked Clayton Stoner into the boards as he was chasing down a puck and he slid into the boards awkwardly and Volpatti would go sit in the sin bin for boarding . The Wild's power play was pretty static, with not a lot of puck movement as they worked a few big point shots for Ryan Suter but Brayden Holtby was up to the task. Minnesota wanted to work the puck down low but the Capitals penalty kill collapsed down around near the blue paint giving the Wild nothing to really look at and they'd get the early kill. A few minutes after the failed power play the Wild had a great opportunity as Nino Niederreiter made a pretty saucer pass behind the Capitals' defense for a breakaway chance for Jason Pominville but his quick wrist shot was steered aside by Holtby. As if on cue the Wild would get tagged with a boarding call of its own as Nate Prosser checked Marcus Johansson, who seemed to turn his back at the last moment just before the hit. Washington would waste little time on the power play as they lit the lamp just 21 seconds later as Nicklas Backstrom threaded a cross-ice pass to Ovechkin for a one-timer that beat Harding to make it 1-0. The goal emboldened the Capitals who started to pinch their defense to force the Wild into some bad turnovers in its own zone. The Capitals pressure would draw another Wild penalty as Justin Fontaine was called for tripping. Washington's puck movement on the power play was again superb as they moved the puck from the point to down low attempting to set up the cross-ice back door play that worked so well the first time. Minnesota kept good active sticks and so the Caps settled to move the puck to the slot where Troy Brouwer got off a quick chance that was denied by Harding. The Wild would esape the power play without further damage but it was obvious there was more than enough potential firepower on the Caps power play to make one not want to give Washington anymore opportunities if you can avoid it. Minnesota would calm down a bit after this successful penalty kill and they started to counter punch a bit. Stealing the puck at the blueline and starting a 4-on-2 rush the other way culminating in a long wrist shot by Marco Scandella that was snagged out of the air by Holtby. Steadily the Wild started to dominate the play, as their forecheck started to cause the Caps some problems. Dany Heatley was particularly good for the 2nd straight game as stole a puck and then moved quickly to take it to a scoring area where he got off a quick shot that Holtby blocked aside. Minnesota would earn a power play late and while I wouldn't say there was a tremendous amount of great puck movement there was enough as Mikko Koivu fed a pass to Zach Parise who moved out front that drew Holtby's attention and Charlie Coyle was there to pounce on the feed to tie the game at 1-1. Minnesota had to feel very good with the way they started to take over the play at even strength, creating some transition off turnovers and that was reflected in the fact the Wild outshot the Capitals 12-4 in the period. I thought Mikael Granlund had a good period and Nino Niederreiter continues to put on a clinic as how to work along the boards.
2nd Period Thoughts: Minnesota picked up where it left off in the 1st as the top line of Coyle, Parise and Koivu created a quality scoring chance as Coyle fed a pass from behind the goal line for Koivu in the slot who was stopped by Holtby. The Wild really were controlling the play, winning the races for the loose pucks and outworking Washington along the wall. It didn't matter which line either; all of Minnesota's lines were controlling the play as the Matt Cooke, Kyle Brodziak and Justin Fontaine line was also outhustling Washington was chasing all over its own zone as it appeared as though the Wild was on the power play as Minnesota was spending significant amount of time working the puck deep and wearing down the Capitals' defense. The Wild's persistance would be rewarded as Niederreiter would win a race for the puck on the forecheck as he passed a puck over to Mikael Granlund who moved out front and fired a shot on goal that was stopped by Holtby and as Pominville moved in for the rebound he'd fan on the shot which turned into a bit of a pass out front and Granlund chipped a puck up and over the sprawling goaltender to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead. After the goal the Wild continued to control the game, with responsible play defensively that stifled the Caps few attempts to start the rush into the Wild zone and then working the puck deep and forcing Washington to retreat and try to defend against Minnesota's forecheck. Washington would only manage a few token shots on goal that were easy stops by Josh Harding, and you could sense the anxiety of the home crowd building as the game went on as well as the frustration of the Caps players as they were pushing and shoving after the play. Granlund, Niederreiter and Pominville continued to put on a clinic on the forecheck and even as former Gopher Nate Schmidt would find Tom Wilson with a long pass Josh Harding was there to shut the door and keep Minnesota's lead intact. You could see Minnesota's confidence was extremely high as they were poised in their own zone making efficient breakouts. Another quality period for the Wild as they dominated the play and not allowing Washington to really build any kind of momentum.
3rd Period Thoughts: Minnesota was keeping its feet moving well to start the period as they kept swarming near the Washington crease as a little shot by Brodziak was poked free by Cooke and Justin Fontaine pounced but Holtby made a huge save. The Capitals were tired of waiting for an opportunity as Ovechkin turned on the afterburners and tried to fly by Jonas Brodin who made a diving pokecheck to prevent a breakaway. Washington kept attacking as Mikhail Grabovski found a little space before inleashing a heavy wrist shot that was nabbed by the glove of Harding. The Wild were content to play a little rope-a-dope as the forwards were retreating well to help out defensively. Minnesota's defense of their lead would be tested big time when Matt Cooke slashed the stick out of Steve Oleksy's hand giving the lethal Capitals power play another chance. On the man advantage the Wild's penalty killers did a great job of contesting passing and shooting lanes, preventing Ovechkin from having much to look at from the point. The Caps would then try to work the puck to the slot where Brouwer was again stonewalled at point-blank range by Harding. Minnesota would then help out their goaltender with a few timely deflections of Washington passes to get the big kill. Yet Minnesota's 'prevent' defense was really playing with fire as the Caps kept pressuring and after a very long shift where Washington's 3rd line worked the puck down low, the Wild couldn't clear the zone and the puck would be swept up by Marcus Johansson who benefitted from a pick set by Tom Wilson on Brodin to get a little space and he swung a shot on goal that went off the shin of Nate Prosser and in to tie the game at two goals apiece. Minnesota would go back on the attack and they'd draw a penalty off a faceoff in the offensive zone as Martin Erat held up Jason Pominville. On the power play the Wild was pulling out all of the stops as they'd set up Pominville for a big one timer that Holtby stopped and then he recovered to deny Parise's attempt to jam home the rebound and the game would go to overtime.
Overtime Thoughts: The Wild started overtime with just over a minute of power play time left from Erat's penalty. Minnesota was rather conservative with their puck movement on the 4-on-3 power play as the Capitals stayed in a tight triangle to prevent much of any cross-ice movement of the puck leaving the Wild to settle for a shot from the point by Suter. Holtby was again a rock for the Capitals making some big saves and preventing the Wild from being able to cash in on rebounds. Throughout the rest of the overtime time and space was hard to com by with only a few more shots on goal and the game would go to a shootout.
Shootout Summary: The Capitals would elect to shoot first, and their first shooter was Mikhail Grabovski. Grabovski would move from left to right but he'd lose the puck a bit as he fired from his forehand and push the puck wide of Harding. Minnesota's first shooter was Jason Pominville who took a slow winding approach going from left to right and then speeding up and ripping a wrist shot against the grain only to be robbed by a beauty of a glove save by Holtby. Washington's next shooter was Alexander Ovechkin and he would move in a lift a quick shot that hit the crossbar and out. Minnesota's next shooter was Mikko Koivu who went wide left before driving to the right side where he roofed a bckhand off the crossbar and out too. The Capitals next shooter was Nicklas Backstrom and the smooth Swede moved in and fired a laser of a wrist shot by Harding to give the Caps a 1-0 shootout lead. Minnesota's hopes then rested on the young broad shoulders of Charlie Coyle where he tried to sneak a shot through Holtby 5-hole but the savvy Caps goalie took the window away to give his club a 3-2 shootout victory.
Josh Harding was again very solid as he made 25 saves in the loss including a few huge stops at close range giving the Wild more than enough chance to win the game. Neither goal was Harding's fault, but his defense should get some credit for limiting the Capitals' chances. Defensively, the Wild played a man down as Clayton Stoner left early in the game and Minnesota was pretty good in its own end; especially at sweeping away rebounds before Washington could pounce on them. Ryan Suter was more than a workhorse, logging 36:51 tonight, almost a league regular season record! Jonas Brodin was also very solid, playing almost 30 minutes himself and making some tremendous plays with his stick to stymie Capitals' forwards. Minnesota also got solid effort from its forwards who came back and did their best to help out.
Offensively the Wild piled up 35 shots on goal which is pretty impressive and I thought they adhered more to their puck possession game which sort of served to help defensively because it didn't give the Capitals easy turnovers to thrive on. I thought the top two lines both played well. Unfortunately I thought the Wild eased up in the 3rd and stopped playing to win and instead tried not to lose. I really love what we are seeing from Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle. Great effort and creativity on just about every shift.
Its tough to lose out on what looked like a prime opportunity to get two points but Minnesota had its chances. Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo was not happy about the blatent pick set by Tom Wilson which led to the game-tying goal, but he was pleased with his team's effort overall. I would say I agree with that sentiment but they need to earn a win against Carolina on Saturday.
Wild Notes:
~ The Wild lineup tonight is as follows: Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle, Kyle Brodziak, Matt Cooke, Justin Fontaine, Mikael Granlund, Jason Pominville, Nino Niederreiter, Zenon Konopka, Dany Heatley, Torrey Mitchell, Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin, Clayton Stoner, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella and Nate Prosser. Niklas Backstrom backed up Josh Harding. Mike Rupp is out with a knee injury while Mathew Dumba and Keith Ballard were the healthy scratches.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Brayden Holtby, 2nd Star Marcus Johansson, 3rd Star Mikael Granlund
~ Attendance was 18,506 at Verizon Center.
Wild Prospect Report:
D – Daniel Gunnarsson (Lulea, SHL) – The lanky defenseman has had a slower than normal start into the 2013-14 season. Lulea is currently 2nd in the SHL, and Gunnarsson has embraced more of a stay at home role. He has just 5 assists, 2 PIM's and is a -3 in 19 games this season.
F – Christoph Bertschy (SC Bern, NLA) – The small shifty forward has started to slowly heat up for SC Bern where he had a goal and 2 assist night last Saturday night. Unfortunately, SC Bern is having a tough season where they currently sit in 9th in the NLA standings. Bertschy has 4 goals, 7 points with 8 PIM's and a -6 in 20 games this season.
D – Dylan Labbe (Shawinigan, QMJHL) – The offensive defenseman continues to find his way on the scoresheet as he contributed two helpers in Shawingan's 5-3 win over Quebec on Wednesday night. Labbe has 2 goals and 12 points, 10 PIM's in 18 games this season.
G – Alexandre Belanger (Rouyn-Noranda) – The Huskies' #1 goalie continues to provide quality starts as he helped Rouyn-Noranda earn a 4-1 win over Victoriaville tonight. Belanger had 20 saves in the victory as he improves his season record to 9-3, to go along with a 3.48 goals against average and a .876% save percentage.
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