Welcome to the Capitals Weekly as we look back at the past week for the Washington Capitals as they took on the Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets. Plus we take a look at news and storylines that took place during the week of December 12th though 19th.
- Wednesday, December 15th, 2021 – Washington Capitals v. Chicago Blackhawks
- Continuing their road trip the Capitals would take on the Chicago Blackhawks as they would honor Marc-Andre Fleury for earning his 500th career win prior to the night’s game. In the first period the Capitals would dominate offensively as they would outshoot the Blackhawks 13-6, but the Caps would be unable to get on the board as Fleury would shut the door to keep it a scoreless game. Then in the second period Alex Ovechkin would open the scoring on the powerplay to get his 21st goal of the season, however, the Caps would fall apart as they would take consecutive penalties and lead to three goals in 36 seconds for the Blackhawks as Alex DeBrincat and Philipp Kurashev would score on the powerplay and MacKenzie Entwistle would complete the scoring frenzy for the 3-1 lead. Then with 42 seconds left in the second period Daniel Sprong would score to get the Caps back within one. In the third period Lars Eller would strike to tie the game at three for the Caps, but DeBrincat would score his second powerplay of the game to give the Blackhawks the one goal lead back. However, with three seconds left in regulation Conor Sheary would score to force overtime for the Caps. In the extra frame though it would be Caleb Jones scoring his first goal as a Blackhawk and of the season to give the Blackhawks the 5-4 overtime victory over the Capitals.
- Friday, December 18th, 2021 – Washington Capitals v. Winnipeg Jets
- In Winnipeg the Capitals would conclude their three game road trip as they would see their former teammate Brenden Dillon. After a scoreless first period the Caps would strike first as both Brett Leason and Daniel Sprong would score to give the Caps the 2-0 lead, but it would be former Cap Dillon with his first as a Jet and of the season to get the Jets back within one. In the second period the Jets would outshoot the Caps 20-9. Then in the third period Josh Morrissey would strike two minutes into the period to give tie the game at two, but Conor Sheary would come in clutch to get the Caps back on the board and back in the lead. Late in the period the Jets would pull the goal and Michael Sgarbossa and Alex Ovechkin would both score into the empty net to give the Caps the 5-2 victory over the Jets.
News and Notes
- Nicklas Backstrom is Back!
- After missing the first 28 games of the season due to a hip injury, Backstrom would return to the Capitals lineup on Wednesday night against the Blackhawks. In the game he would play 18:14, record five shots on goal, produce two hits, and he would record an assist on Ovechkin’s powerplay goal.
Storylines
- COVID-19 Rears Its Ugly Head
- Now this could have easily of gone into the News and Notes section too, but this is also a massive storyline throughout the entire hockey world as the rest of the NHL and the PHF is getting affected by this too.
- On Wednesday Evgeny Kuznetsov would enter COVID-19, and see Nic Dowd and Trevor van Riemsdyk return from the protocols. Then on Thursday Dowd and van Riemsdyk would be designated as non-roster due to Canada’s COVID protocols for entering the country. On Friday Backstrom would be entered into the COVID-19 protocol, which sucks because he had just returned from injury and played his first game of the season. Then this morning while writing this Weekly Recap, TJ Oshie was placed into COVID-19 protocol. This means three players from the Caps top six are in COVID-19 protocol along with Garnet Hathaway who has been in COVID-19 protocol for a while now.
- Seeing this affect the Caps now, plus seeing how the rest of the NHL has been getting hammered by COVID-19 has been really exhausting.
Upcoming Schedule
Sunday, December 19th, 2021 – v. Los Angeles Kings – 7p ET
TV: BSW, NBCSWA
Wednesday, December 21st, 2021 – @ Philadelphia Flyers – 7p ET
TV: ESPN+, Hulu
Thursday, December 23rd, 2021 – @ New York Islanders – 730p ET
TV: MSG+, NBCSWA
The Xperience Hockey Talk 
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