The Washington Capitals did it again, taking a 2-0 series lead over the Montreal Canadiens with another win on home ice.
After a scoreless first period, in which there was a score but it was 0-0, Christian Dvorak hunt-and-pecked a 1-0 lead for the Canadiens after a prolonged net-front scramble. The Caps responded with two goals precisely one minute apart: Connor McMichael scoring unassisted off a bankshot, then Dylan Strome getting his own rebound after a nice zone entry.
And in the final seconds of the third period, Connor McMichael got an empty-netter. It was done.
Caps win! Caps take a 2-0 series lead!
- Again, the Washington Capitals dictated the pace – and the violence – of the game. The Caps generated 70 percent of the expected goals in the first period and 60 percent in the second. But again, late in the third, the Habs pushed hard. Except this time the goalie was ready.
- Ryan Leonard got the first assist of his NHL career, a secondary on Dylan Strome‘s goal. Leonard didn’t get a ton of ice time, again, but it seemed like he made an impact on every shift. It’s so important to have guys like that in the postseason.
- For example: Anthony Beauvillier, who has been brilliant on the top line. Beauvillier had the primary assist on that same Strome goal above, taking a crisp, cross-ice pass from Leonard and routing it immediately to Strome. That makes three points for “Bovy” (no thanks on that nickname) in two games. He was very close to having another goal in this one with a breakaway attempt.
- I thought Tom Wilson had gotten away with a Thomas Crown Affair-style heist for a moment. After laying out Cole Caufield early, Wilson drew heat from Josh Anderson in the form a boarding. Then Anderson went after him again after the whistle. I thought it’d be a four-minute power-play for the Caps, but I think the refs thought Tom went down a bit too easy on the second hit, so they busted him for unsportsmanlike.
- Pierre-Luc Dubois got Suzuki duty again, and he did great with it. At my last check, PLD had played about 9 of his 11 minutes against that top line, and shot attempts were even. I got into some discussions with a Habs writer about the matchup situation in Game 1, saying it went great for the Caps until a legendary run of shifts by the Habs in those final ten minutes. I’m fine with feeding Dubois into the woodchipper here, especially if he can help nab an empty-netter like he did here.
- I don’t know who Jayden Daniels is. When hockey isn’t on, I’m reading about goth lesbian necromancers in space and emancipating nerds from the tyranny of Rader Publishing.
- From the Rader Publishing out-of-town scoreboard, Gabe Landeskog is about to play his first NHL game since June 26, 2022. That’s reason enough to stay up late. If he gets a point tonight, he’ll have one in two straight games.
- With Marty Fehervary out for good, Alex Alexeyev has stepped in and stepped up. He’s getting short-shifted a bit – Matt Roy is eating mega minutes – but I’m placing him alongside Beauvillier as a depth guy kicking it up a notch for the loffs.
- We thought Logan Thompson denied Jake Evans the tying goal eight minutes into the third period with this ballerino move. But it turns out, dramatic pause, he didn’t even touch the thing. It hit the post.
- A shift or two later, Thompson seemed to be shaken up when Juraj Skafkovsky’s skate might have hit his hand under his blocker pad. Could have been bad. Like, Protas bad. Thompson had a few more highlight-reel saves in the third period to protect the lead. Even though he was a fraudster on the Evans save, he was still the difference-maker tonight.
- Connor McMichael had a real bad postseason in the Rangers series last year, but he came up big tonight with two goals.
The Caps are the better team through two games, but the Habs undeniably have weapons. Both of these wins were close, and neither game convinces me that the series will be easy now that it’s headed up to French Canadia.
But I’m having fun. It’s the playoffs. The Caps are alive and ahead. Protas should be back on Friday. The days are long and sunny, and the flowers are blooming. The Caps are 2-0 when I wear my loffs t-shirt. I’ll probably have a milkshake after I publish this and watch the Avs game. Springtime hockey! It’s the best.
