Game Recap – 12/2/2018 – Anaheim Ducks v. Washington Capitals

 

Anaheim Ducks (13-10-5 31pts) v. Washington Capitals (15-7-3 33pts)

 

Game Recap:

The Washington Capitals blow a 5-1 lead with poor second half play and bad penalties while they give up 5 consecutive goals as the Anaheim Ducks halt the Capitals 7 game winning streak with their 4 straight win.

 

Lineups:

Anaheim Ducks:

Rickard Rakell — Ryan Getzlaf — Jakob Silfverberg

Nick Ritchie — Adam Henrique — Ondrej Kase

Andrew Cogliano — Ryan Kesler — Kiefer Sherwood

Brian Gibbons — Carter Rowney — Pontus Aberg

Hampus Lindholm — Brandon Montour

Jacob Larsson — Josh Manson

Marcus Pettersson — Jake Dotchin

John Gibson

Ryan Miller

Scratched: Andy Welinski, Ben Street, Josh Mahura

Injured: Corey Perry (knee surgery), Cam Fowler (facial fractures), Patrick Eaves (back spasms)

 

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Brett Connolly

Andre Burakovsky — Lars Eller — Devante Smith-Pelly

Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Dmitrij Jaskin

Michal Kempny — John Carlson

Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

Christian Djoos — Madison Bowey

Braden Holtby

Pheonix Copley

Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler, Travis Boyd

Injured: T.J. Oshie (concussion), Brooks Orpik (knee surgery)

 

First Period:

Capitals Goal – :41 – Nicklas Backstrom (10) from Alex Ovechkin (13) and John Carlson (23)

Capitals Goal – 6:08 – Chandler Stephenson (2) from Nic Dowd (3) and Dmitrij Jaskin (4)

Ducks Goal – 9:24 – Ryan Getzlaf (8) from Rickard Rakell (15) and Pontus Aberg (5)

Ducks Penalty – 13:06 – Rickard Rakell 2 minutes for Boarding

Capitals PPG -13:19 – Tom Wilson (8) from John Carlson (24) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (17)

Ducks Penalty – 16:41 – Ryan Getzlaf 2 minutes for Goalie Interference

 

End of 1st – ANA – 1       WAS- 3

Shots              09                11

Faceoffs         09                11

Hits               09                  04

PP                 0/0                 1/2

 

Analysis:

This was a very good period for the Capitals. They got an early jump on the Ducks on the score board, and took a 2-0 lead. When Ryan Getzlaf scored to get the Ducks back into the game, the Capitals responded very well by drawing a penalty and scoring on the subsequent powerplay.

 

Need to Do:

The Capitals need to continue playing the way they are and keep the pace to their liking. The Ducks will look to use their size and power to wear down the Capitals, but the Capitals need to continue to use their speed and create more scoring opportunities for themselves.

 

Second Period:

Capitals Goal – 4:59 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (7) from Brett Connolly (10)

Ducks Penalty – 4:59 – Bench (Aberg) 2 minutes for Delay of Game (Offsides Challenge Failed)

Capitals Goal – 13:30 – Nic Dowd (4) from Chandler Stephenson (4) and Dmitrij Jaskin (5)

Ducks Goal – 14:31 – Andrew Cogliano (2) from Jacob Larsson (2) and Ryan Getzlaf (13)

Ducks Goal – 15:26 – Rickard Rakell (5) from Adam Henrique (10)

 

End of 2nd – ANA – 3        WAS – 5

Shots               18                 19

Faceoffs          19                 24

Hits                 15                  05

PP                   0/0                  1/3

 

Analysis:

For the first 14 minutes of the second period the Capitals were very dominate, but after Nic Dowd scored to make it 5-1 the Ducks dominated the final 6 minutes of the 2nd period and cutting the Capitals lead from 4 to 2.

 

Need to Do:

The Capitals need to play a full 20 minutes and force the play in the Ducks’ zone. The Capitals cannot play “not to lose” hockey and turtle into their own zone. The Capitals need to keep their feet moving and force the Ducks to make mistakes and make them into opportunities for themselves.

 

Third Period:

Capitals Penalty – 1:56 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Slashing

Ducks Penalty – 3:41 – Nick Ritchie 2 minutes for Tripping

Capitals Penalty – 6:25 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Boarding

Ducks PPG – 7:16 – Pontus Aberg (8) from Hampus Lindholm (10) and Ondrej Kase (3)

Capitals Penalty – 8:10 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Boarding

Ducks PPG – 9:01 – Hampus Lindholm (3) from Ryan Kesler (2) and Ondrej Kase (4)

Ducks Penalty – 12:48 – Kiefer Sherwood 2 minutes for Boarding

Ducks Goal – 14:55 – Pontus Aberg (9) from Ryan Getzlaf (14) and Kiefer Sherwood (4)

 

End of 3rd – ANA – 6         WAS – 5

Shots              25                   32

Faceoffs        27                    35

Hits               19                     09

PP                 2/3                    1/5

 

Analysis:

The Capitals blew this one big time. All they had to do was play a full 20 minutes and keep the play in the Ducks zone, but instead they took bad penalties and allowed the Ducks back into this one and walk out of Washington with a 6-5 victory.

 

Next Up:

Washington (15-8-3 33pts) @ Vegas (14-13-1 29pts)

Anaheim (14-10-5 33pts) v. Chicago (9-13-5 23pts)