It was a game to remember for the Washington Capitals fans in attendance at Ball Arena on April 18. Many seats were filled with red jerseys, as chants of “C-A-P-S, CAPS CAPS CAPS” echoed throughout the arena, and the Capitals snapped the Colorado Avalanche’s nine-game win streak with a 3-2 win in regulation.
“I’m very happy to see us winning here away from our hometown, especially against the Avalanche, who are a great team and who were on a good home winning streak,” said Andrew Baer, a Capitals fan from D.C. that currently lives in Denver.
The Washington Capitals (43-23-10) now sit one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for third in the Metropolitan Division. The Colorado Avalanche (55-15-6) still remain at the top of the NHL standings despite the loss, but are still looking to clinch the President’s Trophy over the Atlantic Division Florida Panthers.
Garnet Hathaway opened the scoring for the Capitals at 15:58 in the first period. Capitals forward Lars Eller banked the puck along the boards, and Hathaway reached for it from Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson, and shot it past goalie Darcy Kuemper.
Later in the period, Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin made it 1-1, thanks to a breakout started in the defensive zone by star defenseman Cale Makar. It was Nichushkin’s 22nd goal of the season, which further extended his career high in both goals and points.
The Capitals nearly took the lead again with five seconds remaining in the period when Alex Ovechkin shot the puck, which bounced off of Kuemper. Defenseman John Carlson attempted to score on the rebound, but Kuemper and the Avs defense kept the puck out of the net.
Though given many chances to score, the Avalanche struggled to put the puck past Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov, who played great despite having a considered down-season. He saved 10 out of 11 shots on goal in the first period, and finished the game with 24 saves on 26 shots.
“Our boy Ilya out there, he did a great job,” said Baer. “I had a lot of fans out here just kind of being not happy that he was starting, but he did great.”
The strong offensive energy from Washington carried on into the second period, as they continued to put the puck on the Avalanche goal with strong chances from Evgeny Kuznetsov at 18:45 and Eller at 15:35.
Another goal came around to the Capitals on a power play that resulted from a controversial tripping penalty called on Avalanche forward Nico Sturm. Ovechkin buried the puck off of a rebound from Kuznetsov’s shot, which gave him his 48th goal of the season, and made him two goals shy of tying hockey legends Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy for most 50-goal seasons in NHL history.
Throughout the course of the second period, it was clear that the favored Avalanche were struggling against the Capitals both offensively and defensively. Granted, the Avalanche were missing Devon Toews, Erik Johnson, Nazem Kadri, Andrew Cogliano, and captain Gabriel Landeskog in the lineup, all due to injuries. With Kadri and Landeskog helping drive their forceful forward group, their absence was noticeable. Same goes for Toews, who has been apart of an effective defense pairing with Makar.
At 11:47 of the third period, the Avalanche capitalized against the Capitals when Atturi Lehkonen put the puck past Samsonov, but then the call was challenged by the Capitals for goaltender interference. The call on the ice remained a good goal, and the score was tied 2-2, as Ovechkin was sent to the box to serve the delay of game penalty for the failed challenge.
A little over halfway through the third period, Capitals forward Conor Sheary took the puck away from Josh Manson, and then set up teammate Marcus Johansson who took a one-timer over the glove of Kuemper, giving the Caps a 3-2 lead.
The Avalanche followed with numerous chances against the Capitals, but Samsonov stood tall, and the Caps won 3-2. Though Samsonov put on a strong performance, Kuemper also kept the Avalanche in the game despite missing many key players in front of him.
“I think Darcy Kuemper made some great saves tonight regardless of the loss,” said hockey fan Lydia Gengler. “They played well out there, shots on goal were pretty even.”
Though the loss is a tough pill to swallow for those fans of the powerhouse Avalanche, it was a whirlwind of a hockey game that kept them entertained.
“This was my first Avalanche game,” said Gengler. “Kind of disappointing to be honest, but it was a really fun environment and a really fun experience.”
Both teams play on April 20, as the Avalanche hope to bounce back from this loss when they take on the Seattle Kraken and the Capitals seek to continue their momentum against the Vegas Golden Knights.
MFJS Reporter Spring 2022 