Vancouver Canucks vs Washington Capitals Post Game Recap

5 years ago

The Rundown

The Vancouver Canucks came into the afternoon on the heels of a tough loss, and an even tougher injury. After Alex Edler took a brutal puck to the face last night, he wasn’t in the lineup as the boys played the 2nd of a back to back against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Michael DiPietro was also called up as an emergency backup to starter Jakob Markstrom, as Demko continued to battle an ailment he suffered Monday. Finally, Sven Baertschi had to see a doctor today as he continued to fight an illness, and was subsequently scratched. Markus Granlund took his place.

Before the game recap, it was Jay Beagle’s first game back in Washington since he won the cup with the Capitals last year, and I thought this video tribute was a classy gesture on the Capitals part.

1st Period

The Canucks started the game poorly, a theme for the team of late, and conceded the first goal just 3 minutes into the period. TJ Oshie stripped Chris Tanev, who was playing his off side tonight, and got back into the play as Alex Ovechkin took the puck down low. Ovechkin passed it to Nicklas Backstrom who ripped a shot at Markstrom. The rebound bounced right to Oshie who buried it to put the Capitals out in front.

39 seconds after the opening goal, the Canucks received their first power-play of the night after Evgeny Kuznetsov was called for a fairly weak hooking call. However, just like their opening few minutes of 5 on 5 action, the power-play was terrible and the team didn’t muster a shot.

The slow start continued all the way until the 11:30 minute mark of the period, when Ben Hutton fed Antoine Roussel for a partial breakaway, but Braden Holtby made a nice stop with his glove to preserve the early Washington lead.

30 seconds after the Roussel chance and the Canucks found themselves short-handed after Nikolay Goldobin was called for goaltender interference. The Capitals lethal power-play went to work but were stymied by Markstrom. The great goaltending was the main reason the Canucks killed off the penalty, and the game remained scoreless.

The final 6 minutes of the period looked like the previous 14; the Washington Capitals outplayed the Canucks. However, the period came to a close with the Canucks only down by a goal despite being out-shot 18-5. They needed to play MUCH better if they wanted any shot at a win.

2nd Period

The start of the 2nd period was a polar opposite to the first, and the Canucks looked like the much better team. Their pressure turned into a power-play after Josh Leivo made a nifty move to dance his way around Michal Kempny, and Kempny decided to haul him down to the ice.

The Canucks 2nd power-play of the night looked vastly improved, just like their 5 on 5 play. A couple of nice chances were generated, but the Canucks couldn’t get one on the board and their power-play dropped to 0 for 2.

The next 5 minutes saw much of the same, as Vancouver played hard and cycled the puck fluently around the Capitals zone. Shots through the first half of the 2nd were 8-1 for Vancouver, and an equalizer seemed imminent

The Canucks pressure in the 2nd half of the period was immense, and it started with the 4th line. 10:30 minutes in, Tyler Motte received a great pass from Jay Beagle right in the crease, but Holtby made a nice stop sliding to his right to make the save. A few moments later he stoned his former teammate right on the doorstep.

A minute later, a great rush by the Canucks ended when Hutton rang a wrist shot off the crossbar… Canucks just a few centimetres away from the tying goal.

A minute after Hutton’s shot hit the post, Bo Horvat pulled off a beautiful toe drag to get around Jonas Siegenthaler, and Siegenthaler was forced to hook Horvat down. Horvat was awarded a penalty shot, but Holtby was there to make a nice stop with his pad to deny Horvat of his 2nd over a 16 game stretch…

A minute after the Horvat penalty shot, Troy Stecher hit the post after the Canucks generated another off the rush scoring chance. Just one of those periods for Vancouver.

While the Canucks weren’t able to tie up the game, they were dominant all through the middle frame, and out-shot the Capitals 13-4. With the way the Canucks played in the 2nd, it felt like it was only a matter of time until they broke through.

3rd Period

While each team dominated one of the first 2 periods, the first 5 minutes of the final frame saw both teams come out with pace and energy.

6 minutes into the period we’d have the next goal, and it was the Capitals who extended their lead. After the Canucks got caught at the end of a long shift. Jakub Vrana and Kuznetsov made a couple of nifty moves each, before Brett Connolly banged home the insurance tally. Tough break for the Canucks, who had been much better since the first period.

2 minutes after the Capitals extended their lead, the Canucks put a dent into it. Roussel took the puck up the right wing, and fed a beautiful backhand pass to the front of the Capitals goal where Granlund tipped it under the bar and in to make it 2-1.

12 minutes into the period and disaster struck for the Canucks. After they lost the face-off, Vrana shot the puck off the net, and it bounced on the top of the goal, then off the back of Markstrom and in. The officials reviewed the goal to see if Kuznetsov touched it with a high stick (I’ll let you be the judge), but it was deemed a legal goal and the Capitals took a commanding 3-1 lead with under half a period to play.

The Canucks looked to have lost a bit of steam after the odd bounce, but with 3 minutes left in the game, they pulled Markstrom, their last-ditch effort to claw themselves back into the game.

While they weren’t able to tie the game up, Elias Pettersson was able to add to his rookie-leading goal total as he shot the puck into a wide-open net for his 24th of the year with 6 seconds to go. Horvat was shoved into Holtby on the play, which is why there was no goaltender interference.

The final score in Washington was 3-2 for the Capitals. If the Canucks played the 1st period like they played the final 2, maybe a different outcome for the road team.

Advanced Stats

Both photos courtesy of naturalstattrick.com

Wrap Up

This game looked like it’d be a blowout early on, when the Canucks looked like garbage for the entirety of the first period. Whatever head coach Travis Green said in the intermission sparked this group, but ultimately they fell short. A lot of great chances in the final few frames for Vancouver, and the reality is this game could’ve gone either way. There were a number of positives I took throughout the night, even during the Canucks horrendous first period.

Jakob Markstrom played another strong game, and was the only reason Vancouver had a chance after the first 20 minutes. None of the 3 goals scored on him were his fault tonight, and he made a number of key saves throughout. He was the true standout player for me tonight.

While the Canucks weren’t able to come away with 2 points, and only had 1 goal for 59:54 minutes of the game, the offence looked strong after the first. I thought the boys mustered some quality scoring chances, and really took the game to the Capitals at times. Horvat’s slump reared its ugly head tonight, and both Hutton and Stecher were inches away from the equalizer in the 2nd. Pettersson, Goldobin, and Boeser all had a few chances of their own, but couldn’t beat the all-star netminder for the Capitals.

All in all, a poor start, and a couple of missed chances were ultimately their downfall. Let’s hope the team figures out how to start games with more energy soon.

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