Washington Capitals (8-7-3 19pts) v. Colorado Avalanche (9-6-3 21pts)
Lineups:
Washington Capitals:
Alex Ovechkin — Lars Eller — Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana — Nicklas Backstrom — Andre Burakovsky
Chandler Stephenson – Travis Boyd – Brett Connolly
Dmitrij Jaskin – Nic Dowd – Devante Smith-Pelly
Michal Kempny – Matt Niskanen
Dmitry Orlov – John Carlson
Christian Djoos – Madison Bowey
Ilya Samsonov
Scratched:Â Jonas Siegenthaler
Injured: Braden Holtby (upper body), Evgeny Kuznetsov (upper body), Brooks Orpik (lower body), T.J. Oshie (upper body)
Colorado Avalanche:
Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost – Alexander Kerfoot – Colin Wilson
Sheldon Dries – Carl Soderberg – Matt Calvert
Sven Andrighetto – Vladislav Kamenev – Gabriel Bourque
Samuel Girard – Erik Johnson
Ian Cole – Tyson Barrie
Mark Barberio – Patrik Nemeth
Philipp Grubauer
Semyon Varlamov
Scratched: Marko Dano, Nikita Zadorov
Injured: J.T. Compher (head), Matt Nieto (lower body)
First Period:
Avalanche Goal – 1:08 – Carl Soderberg (7) from Tyson Jost (2) and Tyson Barrie (15)
Avalanche Penalty – 14:07 – Sheldon Dries 2 minutes for Slashing
End of 1st – WAS – 0Â Â Â Â COL – 1
Shots       13        09
Faceoffs     05        15
Hits        06         07
PPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0/1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0/0
Analysis:
After a very rocky start to the game, the Capitals were able to settle in… kind of. The Avalanche did a very good job of playing between the blue lines and if the Capitals did get into the zone, forced the Capitals shots to the outside and allowed Philipp Grubauer to see everything.
Need to Do:
The Capitals need to use their speed to force the Avalanche to make some mistakes. The Avalanche are playing with a swarm mentality and are utilizing picks to create issues for the Capitals. Also the Capitals need to do a much better job in the faceoff circle as the Avalanche are killing them in that department. And lastly, The Capitals need to generate some more scoring opportunities in the danger zones. They only had 2 in the first period.
Second Period:
Capitals Penalty – :31 – Nicklas Backstrom 2 minutes for Hooking
Avalanche Penalty – 6:20 – Gabriel Bourque 2 minutes for Tripping
Capitals Goal – 8:55 – Devante Smith-Pelly (3) from Chandler Stephenson (3) and Travis Boyd (3)
Capitals Goal – 18:29 – Alex Ovechkin (13) from Nicklas Backstrom (17) and Tom Wilson (1)
End of 2nd – WAS – 2Â Â Â Â COL – 1
Shots        25         18
Faceoffs     22         23
Hits         12         9
PPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0/2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0/1
Analysis:
This was a much better period for the Capitals. They outshot the Avalanche, and they also dominated in the faceoff circle. Capitals also generated better scoring chances, and were able to score the only 2 goals of the period as a result.
Need to Do:
The Capitals need to continue playing a solid defensive game and continue to contain the Avalanche’s speed. The Capitals also need to play the majority of the game in Colorado’s zone and not turtle into their own zone like we’ve seen quite a bit this season.
Third Period:
Capitals Penalty – 6:16 – Lars Eller 2 minutes for Interference
Avalanche Goal -17:16 – Colin Wilson (5) from Matt Calvert (4) and Ian Cole (6)
Avalanche Penalty – 18:51 – Ian Cole 2 minutes for Interference
OT:
Capitals PPG – :22 – Nicklas Backstrom (5) from John Carlson (15) and Tom Wilson (2)
End of OT – WAS – 3Â Â Â Â Â COL – 2
Shots       29          26
Faceoffs    31          34
Hits        17           11
PPÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1/3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0/2
Analysis:
This was a huge win for the Capitals. Despite being out shot in the 3rd period, the Capitals defense only gave up one goal and needed only one shot to win it in overtime. The Capitals get two needed days of rest before they take on the Montreal Canadiens and with that rest we will see if they get back TJ Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Braden Holtby from injuries.
Next Up:
Washington (9-7-3 21pts) @ Montreal (10-6-3 23pts)
Colorado (9-6-4 22pts) v. Anaheim (8-9-4 20pts)
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