Those who stayed up late Monday night were rewarded with one of the Washington Capitals’ best performances of the season. The Caps dueled the Colorado Avalanche in a tight, physical, and just damn fun hockey game.
Garnet Hathaway started with a solo effort into goal. Valeri Nichuskin tied it up after a wild and hard game. In the second half, Alex Ovechkin casually swept in his 48th goal of the season on the doorstep. In the middle of the third, Artturi Lehkonen scored a controversial goal to level. Conor Sheary stole a puck and fed Marcus Johansson to restore Washington’s lead.
win caps!
- Man what a great game. Not just a great effort by Washington, but a quality entertainment product all round.
- Garnet Hathaway‘s gate was imbued with Rambo energy. Single-handedly, Hathaway jabbed the puck loose, sent it down, then propelled it to the bar and over the goal line. He’s just putting the icing on a career-best season at this point.
- Here’s a technique from Ilya Samsonov that I wouldn’t recommend to young goalkeepers.
Samsonov is really using his noggin tonight 😉 pic.twitter.com/xWbqrHMVRl
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) April 19, 2022
- Markus Johanson collided with Josh Manson in the first period. Manson has returned, so I’m only mentioning that to emphasize that Johansson hit someone and wasn’t hurt. We don’t have to be tied to familiar patterns forever.
- Speaking of Marcus, he got such a great pass Conor Sheary to the go-ahead gate. Sheary’s playmaking and reads seem to be stuck as we get deeper into the season.
- Alex Ovechkin, old, scored his 48th goal Teemu Selanne ties for a lot of an old people. Ovi’s goal was uncharacteristic – a Colorado defender simply hacked the puck over the crease and straight to Ovi’s stick.
- The puck wasn’t actually on or under Samsonov’s pads, though Arturi Lehkonen pocketed it. That goal hurts, but it felt fair to me.
late into the night @JoeBpXp for a hard game let’s gooooo #joebsuitofthenight pic.twitter.com/qnCpWfQfzT
— Good tweet Pete 🌮 (@peterhassett) April 19, 2022
Great game. I’m not even mad that staying up late will ruin my productivity for the week. I won’t even let my unhealthy Puritan work ethic spoil this fun night. I don’t even worry about my limited productivity for watching this good game. I won’t be cranky tomorrow or need a nap or anything. I am an adult Who’s seen a good hockey game?
A late night in Las Vegas awaits us on Wednesday. It would be satisfying to see the Caps push the Knights closer to a playoff loss.
Headline photo by our bud Reschly