The Washington Capitals hosted an auspicious game against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night. We expected a star celebration. Little did we know the star would be Nick Dodd.
David Peron lifted a running back to beat Charlie Lindgren to put Detroit on the board first. The Wings made it 2-0 off the stick of Oscar Sundqvist, catching a flawless pass from Jonathan Berggren (a fun name to spell, he certainly didn’t need to double-check that).
Nick Dodd scored twice in the second period. 11 seconds apart.
Lucas Raymond restored Detroit’s lead five minutes into the third period, but Erik Gustafsson – the dynamo – nailed it soon after. This earned us overtime.
Dmitry Orlov won it in overtime!
Winning caps!
- Washington completely crushed Detroit in the possession game. The puck was always on the stick of a Caps player, except when it wasn’t, and then it was on a fearsome quick attack against Charlie Lindgren. The Wings are a growing team, and they’re a little heavy at the top, but hell they can generate chances quickly.
- Nick DoddAnd the Player of the Year! He scored two goals, the sixth and seventh, 11 seconds apart. His first goal: to play with absolute dexterity with curl and pull. Second: opportunistic advice. He is on pace to break his own single season scoring record of eleven. A lot of people seem to think Hathaway carried the weight in this pairing. I think Dodd is special in his own right.
Two goals in 11 seconds for NIC DOWD pic.twitter.com/zUqLBkmMj6
– B/R Open Ice (BR_OpenIce) December 20, 2022
- There was some controversy after Dowd’s second goal, with the wingers seemingly trying to defend their way out of it. The plea didn’t work, and a little donnybrook followed on the next shift, Mantha trying to take on three Wings players himself as Genji while I try to keep him recovering as Ana. Oh, that’s an Overwatch reference by the way.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov He left the game temporarily with seven minutes left in the game. He nursed his shoulder after he was hit (crosscheck? Elbow) from Moritz Seider. Kuznetsov has had a strange season so far – only one goal at five on five, but he’s been a great playmaker anyway: Elite level initial passes. Even if it feels like he’s getting away from the season, the team needs him badly. Kuznetsov returned to overtime.
- I did not like Lars Eller Shooting penalty hook 190 feet from his net. Sundqvist scored on it. Eller redeemed himself with a nice pass to Eric Gustafson in the third group.
When you’re hot, you’re hot pic.twitter.com/wmim2vWGnT
– Washington Capitals December 20, 2022
- Gustafsson has been the subject of vigorous, heated, extended, venomous, and sometimes violent debate in the RMNB controversy. This player who I couldn’t have cared less for back in September is now a top couples D-boy and a crucial component of Attack first maybe defense later if nothing is too much trouble attitude. I, of course, like this, and people who are interested in “good” and “normal” hockey do not.
- Alex Ovechkin He rang the post on a power play in the second half, then did it again in the third. A gradient doesn’t count as a shot on goal, so it didn’t even count toward other records chasing: Most shots on goal, Ray Burke trail by single digits.
- Fans in the Capital One Arena chanted “Ovi! Ovi! Ovi!” during the power play. I do not like that. I feel it’s daring – like a power play is the Ovechkin’s goal factory, and it’s smaller than it really is.
Every time he wears a little purple, that’s a good look #retweet pic.twitter.com/mGTm0nDy50
— Pete’s good tweet 🌮 (@peterhassett) December 20, 2022
Another great game. We were grumbling here about the quality of the caps as an entertainment product. After weeks of good matches – many of them no less lucrative – that complaint goes to the drawer. Not sure if the hats are any good yet (meet up for another day), but it’s fun for now. That’s a lot.
See you Thursday at the Road in Ottawa.
Title image: @employee
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