Caps beat Devils 4 3

Caps beat Devils 4-3 🍎

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The Washington Capitals (grown up but tired) narrowly defeated the New Jersey Devils (fresh and rested) on home ice Saturday night. An otherwise mundane game was made a classic thanks to a game-winning crucial goal from the man of the night, Nicklas Backstrom, and the apple rain celebration that followed.

After a scoreless first period where the score was 0-0 despite what I called it a scoreless, Jack Hughes struck early in the second period, a dart just under the bar. Tom Wilson connected it after a lovely setup pass from Conor Sheary but Damon Severson threaded the needle for a controversial go-ahead goal before the second break.

After a late penalty early in the third period, Connor McMichael scored his ninth goal of the season, a layup from a beautiful passing sequence. The man of the evening, Nicky Backstrom, scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, setting off an apple-throwing bonanza. Alex Ovechkin added an interesting power play goal to his 42nd goal. The Devils got one back in garbage time, but Washington held on to victory.

Caps win 4-3.

  • The Caps played Friday night and boy did it show. New Jersey looked like a good team, which I don’t think they are? But they probably will be soon. The Devils dominated the five-a-side game (The Boqvist was on about 75 percent of shot attempts last time I checked), though Washington managed to construct some odd rushes that made things seem closer than they were were.
  • Washington’s best play of the game was the six-on-five sequence that led to it Connor McMichael‘s goal. This is a great time for him to make his mark as there will be many lineup competitions in the coming days and weeks.
  • TJ Oshie played for the first time since March 17th. I think (I hope) the team brought him back to duty – he didn’t play much compared to his normal linemates.
  • The team was recognized in a pregame ceremony Nicklas Backstrom for 1000 career points. However, my favorite Backstrom game is not among those 1000 points – it was April 17, 2010 when Backstrom scored four goals in Montreal. I forgot how the rest of this series went.
  • Backstrom’s goal – an unlikely wrister who was under pressure on the other side of the net – set off an avalanche of apple souvenirs, which were given away for Backstrom’s celebration. Play was suspended for nearly five minutes as teams and players alike worked to clear the ice of tiny apples. 🍎
  • So the Severson gate. It came right after a faceoff that the Caps lost. The previous stoppage was reportedly icing on the cake, and Washington were not allowed to put their favorite players on the ice after being flagged for offside. Oshie lost that faceoff on ice with Hathaway and Mantha — no real centers, basically. The Caps were mighty angry about that.
  • Our friend Rachel rode the (ahem) ice resurfacing machine tonight. Happy birthday, Rachel. You are both a dear friend and an inspiration. Many happy returns.
  • Behold, a powerplay crease: Alex OvechkinThe 42nd of the season was a shot at the goal line, set up by Kuznetsov with a cross pass. Goaltender from New Jersey Nico Daws became the 156th goalie to appear on Ovi’s list.

That’s the cool thing about hockey. This game was pretty boring and the Caps played pretty bad at it. But then a game upped it, and now we’ll remember it forever.

“Remember the apple game?”

“Yes! That was the best.”

Yes, it really was.

A day off and then a very tough home game against the Carolina Hurricanes, the team most likely to join the Beltway convoy.