Team B is undefeated: Caps beat Isles 6-3

Team B is undefeated: Caps beat Isles 6-3

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Welp. Without practically all of its stars, Washington Capitals quickly fell into a three-goal hole for Barry Trotz’s New York Islanders. But then, some magic happened.

The first period was the wells. Oliver Wahlstrom opened the scoring with his first goal in the NHL, so Casey Cizikas scored in a magical detour the next round. Before the end of the period, Anders Lee received a tip, while Tom Wilson served a very mild penalty.

But look: the capitals scored five unanswered goals in the second period. The first two belonged to Conor Sheary – the first and the second in Caps uniform. Garnet Hathway tied the game with an urgent goal, and then John Carlson’s one-timer power-play put the Caps back in the lead, which Zdeno Chara extended with a blue line monster kick.

In the third, the Caps stopped pushing. They resisted a game of strength at the end of the game, so Tom Wilson sank an empty net to guarantee a big victory.

CAPS WIN!

Six goals ?! Our first Bailamos game of the year! Nothing else is prohibited.

  • Just a quick clarification: I have called this team Capsules, but this is only technically true. There were no Ovi, Orlov, Samsonov, Kuznetsov or Eller. Wilson was clearly not 100 percent, and poor Nicky Backstrom boo-booed. I’ll keep calling this team that played the Capsules though, because I love them, and Capsules it’s a name I sometimes use to designate things I love.
  • Our Caps they were not necessarily defeated in the first period, but they were certainly defeated. They gave Wahlstrom their first major league goal and no, I’m not monitoring how many times this has happened recently. Cizikas’ goal was incredible, and Anders was the fault of a poor PK reading – meaning the goalkeeper Vitek Vanecek made no big mistake. He just didn’t make any great saves.
  • Unrelated interruption: new jam from our friends in a few hours:
  • I thought for a moment – and again, wrongly – that Laviolette could have rested Chara tonight after some dubious moves in the last game. I underestimated how important the experience would be for a random lineup like the one we saw tonight. I am very happy that Chara played: he dominated the game of five against five, helped with Sheary’s second goal and scored his first as captain, receiving strident celebration from his teammates.
  • I’ve been optimistic (I think that’s the right word; I don’t throw stones) in Conor Sheary since a long time ago. He has a great chance, something the Caps have been needing for over a year. With two goals to kick-start, Sheary delivered.
  • At the start of the third, the defender of Caps Justin “Jeff” Schultz took a record in the face. I suspect it was on the nose, as there was a ton of blood on the ice. Schultz ran through the tunnel and did not return.

I didn’t expect that. Missing three goals at the start and without nearly all of his elite scoring talent, I was sure that Washington’s string of points would end tonight. I was wrong. I love being wrong that way.

I don’t know what this team will be like when the Four come back, but the guys who are here and playing now – well, I like them a lot. Sheary and Schultz and Siegs and Sprong and the big Z? They’re my guys as long as fate allows, and I’m happy with that.

ps. Ian owes someone an apology. Three plump, plump people.

RMNB coverage of Caps vs Islands

Screenshots courtesy of NBC Sports Washington

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