The Washington Capitals certainly lost the special-teams battle to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night, but with depth players showing up big in the third period they have put the Habs on the brink of elimination.
After a goal-less first period, Anthony Beauvillier out-dueled two Habs defenders to set up Dylan Strome and the game’s first goal. Ivan Demidov did something similar, using fancy stick-work to give space to Juraj Slafkovsky to score on the power play. Cole Caufield added another power-play goal late in the second period.
Seven minutes into the third, hero of the day Brandon Duhaime tied it, with Connor McMichael crashing the net as a garnish. Andrew Mangiapane scored the game-winner in the final four minutes, calling his own number instead of passing to a wide-open Alex Ovechkin. (Good choice.) Right after the Habs pulled their goalie, Duhaime added an empty-netter. Tom Wilson added another.
Caps win! Caps lead the series 3-1!
- After getting relatively stiffed in Game 3, the Caps got and then squandered too many power-play opportunities on Sunday night, with just three scoring chances on more than 8 minutes of five-on-four time, plus a bit more two-man advantage. That should have cost them the game.
- By the way, Alan May said he thinks four-on-three is more advantageous than five-on-three. Because geometry. Okay, Alan.
- The Canadiens had six shots on goal in the second period, and only two during five-on-five play, but they scored twice on the power play. That’s some Caps loffs jinx stuff right there. It’s just that this time it didn’t break your heart.
- The Caufield goal was a bit of a softy for goalie Logan Thompson, who surprised everyone by dressing for this game after bailing on Game 3. Trolls on the internet but also my life partner on the couch next to me accused Thompson of faking it. I think they’re joking.
- Same life partner on Andrew Mangiapane: “Doesn’t his name remind you of a mix between frangipane and mascarpone?” Well, dammit, I guess it does now.
- Dylan Strome and Anthony Beauvillier remain Washington’s best performers, combining for a brilliant goal in the second period. Beauvillier absorbed the attentions of two Habs and still managed to get one last touch on the puck, sufficient to get it to Strome. Beauvillier has a point in all four games. Strome has seven points in this postseason.
- I wanted Spencer Carbery to change the top line, but mostly I just wanted Aliaksei Protas to be healthy. He wasn’t, and Carbery changed nothing. And yet, I vividly remember a Suzuki vs. Ovechkin shift that ended in the offensive zone, so what do I know. Nothing.
- Alex Ovechkin was très physique again. He started the game off with a grazing hit on Alexandre Carrier, and then he got busted for interference, hitting Jake Evans late in the second period – the penalty on which Caufield scored. Ovechkin still generated offense; I’m not complaining.
- More on the physical theme, Tom Wilson, folks. He lit up Carrier on open ice twelve seconds before Duhaime scored that very big goal. Wilson also drew a trip without retaliating and got a couple power-play looks. I saw that someone put Wilson cards in the urinals at Bell Center tonight, the only PP where a Caps player was effective, but he was good everywhere else. He didn’t get a point on the Duhaime goal, but he made it happen, and he got his point later.
- Montreal defender Alex Carrier missed shifts after the partial Ovechkin hit in the first period but came back for the second. After the Wilson hit in the third, he was done, having been seen with an icepack on his neck before retreating to the locker room. Brutal night for him.
We’ve been waiting for Caps depth to show up, and they did – in the form of Brandon “Doggy” Duhaime, assisted by his boyhood pal Jakob Chychrun. They got it in the form of Andrew “frangipane/mascarpone” Mangiapane going top-shelf in the closing minutes. With the power play fizzled and shooting percentage flummoxed, the Caps needed a different vector to win. They got it.
Tonight, Brandon Duhaime is a legend, winning a game I’d have otherwise called unwinnable.
We’ve got two days off as the Capitals return to Washington and rest up. They have the Canadiens on the brink. There are so many awful words and phrases in hockey – berth, I’m looking at you – but brink rules.
Wednesday: Finish the fight.
