Harry Lichtman
The Washington Capitals (30-23-7) officially returned to action after the Olympic break. Despite a slow start, they got the job done for a 3-1 home win over the Philadelphia Flyers (25-21-21) on Wednesday night.
The Capitals were also without both alternate captains. Tom Wilson was out with an illness, while John Carlson is still day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
The first period was rough, but Rasmus Sandin was able to break the scoreless tie in the middle frame to make it 1-0 Capitals.
After Philadelphia tied it up early in the third, Trevor van Riemsdyk responded with the game-winning goal later in the period. Aliaksei Protas eventually sealed it with an empty-netter.
“We know where we are in the standings,” said van Riemsdyk. “We had three weeks to look at that, crunch the numbers and know that we can’t afford many more losses.”
Logan Thompson was also spectacular in his return from representing Canada in the Winter Olympics. He stopped 23 of 24 shots on what happened to be his 29th birthday.
Next up, the Capitals will host Vegas in a rematch of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals on Friday night.
Capitals Analysis
The Capitals had been off for nearly three weeks due to the Olympic break, and it really showed at the beginning. For a majority of the opening period, the Capitals spent time in the defensive zone and were outshot 8-1.
However, that’s when the Capitals started to click as they generated more zone time and pressure.
Without Wilson, Hendrix Lapierre drew in to the lineup and actually made a huge impact. He showed off his two-way game while playing on the fourth line with Brandon Duhaime and Nic Dowd.
Late in the middle frame, Lapierre found Sandin coming off the bench, as he fired a shot past Dan Vladar. The Capitals broke the scoreless tie as Lapierre now has three points in his last eight games.
Noah Cates tied it up at 1-1 for Philadelphia early in the third, but the Capitals eventually responded. Declan Chisholm fed the puck to van Riemsdyk, who buried it for the go-ahead goal with 5:52 left in regulation. It marked the 34-year-old blueliner’s second tally of the season.
With under a minute to go, the Capitals went to a late penalty kill, due to a delay of game call on Nic Dowd. Nevertheless, the defense stood up and Protas sealed it with an empty-netter.
The 25-year-old has now reached the 20-goal mark in back-to-back seasons. He also reached the 20-assist mark with his contribution to van Riemsdyk’s game-winner.
However, it also helped that the Capitals had Thompson back in net. The Olympic silver medalist made some crucial stops and shut down players like Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov.
Capitals Report Card
Team: B
The Capitals got off to a slow start, but eventually picked it up in the middle frame. The team got goals from two defensemen that don’t score very often.
Logan Thompson: A
Thompson stepped up big time with 23 stops on his birthday. The 29-year-old’s save on Michkov in the third was a turning point for the team.
Trevor van Riemsdyk: A
The 34-year-old defenseman came through with the game-winning goal. It also happened be his second tally of the season.
Hendrix Lapierre: A
Lapierre finished with an assist on the Sandin goal and was very physical on the ice. One particular highlight was a big hit on Cates early on.
Beauvillier-Sourdif-Frank line: B+
This trio turned out to be very effective, as they generated multiple chances and kept the pressure up.
