Caps beat Red Wings 4-3 in overtime as Strome scores two
Tuesday’s game between the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings was supposed to be a pivotal moment in the teams’ duel for the second wild-card spot. Instead, they decided to pushing the pivot back a bit.
Nic Dowd scored a beaut in the second period, but Alex DeBrincat responded by crashing the net. Late in the middle frame, David Perron finished a rapid barrage of shots on poor Charlie Lindgren.
Early in the third, Connor McMichael tied the game with a sneaky tuck-in. Dylan Strome scored on a rebound after an offensive-zone faceoff to give the home team the lead. With five minutes left in regulation, the Caps failed to clear the zone and Patrick Kane tied it, forcing overtime.
Detroit scratched Daniel Sprong. That’s messed up. I bought an entire website for this night. danielspro.ng
It was a mixed effort from the Caps. It took them eleven minutes to force Wings goalie Alex Lyon to make a save. Their play late in the first was excellent though, but then it evaporated in a lacking second period. And a failed zone exit handed that big tying goal to Patrick Kane (of all people). So I guess a lot of fodder for the video coaches.
Every time we talk about uneven effort, I suppose we’re implicitly saying “that poor goalie.” Tonight Charlie Lindgren was that poor goalie. He had to do way too much, especially early, but also when the Wings were buzzing late in the second period. He made three saves in the instant before the Perron goal. You could ask for more, but you really shouldn’t.
Nic Dowd did everything on that first goal. He kept the play alive in the offensive zone, found Jensen on the other side of the ice and sent him the puck, then got in the high slot to take a nifty shot. Lyon had to move laterally a lot on that play, and that’s the best way to beat a goalie.
I’ve liked almost everything out of Ivan Miroshnichenko, so let’s all appreciate this hardy hit.
