<![CDATA[RMNB]]> Follow RMNB, filter it, and define how you want to receive the news (via Email, RSS, Telegram, WhatsApp etc.) https://follow.it/rmnb Sun, 27 Nov 2022 21:48:00 +0200 <![CDATA[One stat to better understand every Caps player]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWzdIOcCOrmot3hDS9njgCr

We’re almost done with the twenty-games-in series. I have one more treat in store, but before that I want to play a game.

I’ve gone through every active-ish player for the Washington Capitals and pulled one stat that helps me understand their season so far. A couple of these surprised me; a couple of them might surprise you. One or two should enrage you. I hope a few of them grow our shared appreciation for some guys. I’ve tried to keep my commentary to a minimum, though my stats selections should suggest my feelings on a lot of these.

Beck Malenstyn

41: On-ice shot-attempt percentage of the Beck-Dowd-Hathaway line in 34 minutes together. Dowd and Hathaway have done 10 points better with a different winger.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel

8:46: NAK’s average ice time in his four games played

Aliaksei Protas

Plus-8.1: Change to Washington’s on-ice percentage when Protas is on the ice, highest on the team

Lucas Johansen

One: Games played

Alexander Alexeyev

11: Total minutes played this season

Joe Snively

12: Snively’s average ice time in his five games played

Garnet Hathaway

35: Penalty minutes, highest on the team by nearly 20 minutes. The Caps have been beaten on the penalty kill 11 times when Hathaway is off the ice and and five times when he is on the ice.

Matt Irwin

51.6: Opponent attempts per hour when Irwin is on the ice, the lowest rate among all Caps defenders.

Sonny Milano

1st: Milano’s rank in five-on-five points per hour, 2.9

Nic Dowd

1.1: Dowd’s goals above replacement (GAR) at shorthanded defense, best on the team

Lars Eller

Minus-11: Eller’s combined impact to Washington’s offense and defense, according HockeyViz

Anthony Mantha

Seven: Games Mantha has gone without a goal, dating back to November 11

Marcus Johansson

Plus-43: Improvement in percentage points to Washington’s power-play expected-goal rate when Johansson is on the ice

Conor Sheary

2nd: Sheary’s rank in goals among all Caps over last 3 seasons (40). He is 45 goals behind Ovechkin and three above Wilson.

TJ Oshie

Nine: Games missed to injury this season. Oshie missed 38 games last season. He missed three combined games in the two seasons before that.

Connor Brown

67: Total minutes played as a Washington Capitals before his injury

Trevor van Riemsdyk

Minus-6: TVR’s impact (percentage points) on opponent offense. (Negative is good.)

Dylan Strome

3.2: Strome’s goals above replacement, highest among top-six forwards. I dunno. It’s hard to describe quiet competence.

Evgeny Kuznetsov

Minus-70: Percentage change in Kuznetsov’s five-on-five goal rate since last season. His overall point rate is actually up; he leads the team in assists.

Erik Gustafsson

Minus-5.3: The difference between Gustafsson’s on-ice shot-attempt percentage (54.6) and on-ice expected-goal percentage (49.3). This is the largest gap among Capitals defenders.

Martin Fehervary

5.6: Fehervary’s goals above replacement (GAR) according to Evolving-Hockey, a team high. I cannot wrap my head around this one at all.

Nick Jensen

56.3: Jensen’s on-ice shot attempt percentage in his 69 minutes with Orlov. Jensen has been 49.3 without Orlov.

Alex Ovechkin

Nine: Goals until Ovechkin ties Gordie Howe. I considered other stats about Ovechkin’s offense, but this is the one that seems to matters the most. Take from that what you will.

Dmitry Orlov

22: Days since Orlov’s lower-body injury.

John Carlson

14.4: Rate of opponent high-danger chances per hour, worst on Washington and 144th out of 155 NHL defender with at least 240 minutes played.

Darcy Kuemper

Plus-3.4: Goals saved above expected, ranked 11th of 31 goalies who have played 10 games.

Charlie Lindgren

Minus-1.1: Goals saved above expected, i.e. he has allowed one more goal than expected, ranked 46th of 69 goalies who have played five game

Now let’s fight about it in comments.

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB

]]> Sun, 27 Nov 2022 20:28:54 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWzdIOcCOrmot3hDS9njgCr <![CDATA[A newbie-friendly walkthrough of different hockey analytics resources]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWmbRaDFoyGn68qfTAM-Smm

We’re now over twenty games into the season. With a roughly a quarter of the season done, I’m less wary of looking at statistics for fear of small-sample distortions. That’s my excuse for doing something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

There’s a lot of ways to enjoy hockey, and I won’t ever wag my finger at someone who doesn’t like numbers side of it. If you’ve ever been quantitatively curious but felt like analytics were unapproachable, I’ve got something that could help.

I’ve walked through my favorite hockey analytics and statistics resources and recorded how I use them, what I like about them, and what seems most meaningful to me. In case you want to get into this stuff, these videos might be a helpful start for you.

I’ll add that creating and maintaining these sites is expensive. RMNB subscribes to all of the sites that have subscriptions, and we invite you to join us if you’re a user too. (We also have our own Patreon, in case you wanna support us even if you have an adblocker on.)

Natural Stat Trick

https://www.naturalstattrick.com/

What I like about NST:

  • Utilitarian layouts of team and player data in tables
  • In-game shot-attempt data
  • Player data with and without specific teammates

HockeyViz

https://hockeyviz.com/

What I like about HockeyViz:

  • Pretty and intuitive
  • Front-page dashboards for playoff chances and more
  • Impact and on-ice heatmaps
  • Novel stats like “Setting”

Evolving Hockey

https://evolving-hockey.com

What I like about EH:

  • Goals Above Replacement catch-all stat
  • GAR broken down by component
  • Play-by-play query data

Moneypuck

https://moneypuck.com/

What I like about Moneypuck:

  • A model that is super down on the Caps
  • Game-by-game win projections
  • In-game win percentage over time
  • Goalie, forward lines, and D-pair leaderboards

Hockey-reference, NHL.com, and more

https://www.hockey-reference.com/

What I like about hockey-ref:

  • Quick search
  • Box car statistics

What I like about NHL.com:

  • Almost nothing

Thanks for watching and reading. This story might be a good bookmark if you ever feel like delving back in. If you have any questions, drop in the comments and I’ll do my best.

]]> Sun, 27 Nov 2022 18:40:38 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWmbRaDFoyGn68qfTAM-Smm <![CDATA[Opposite Day: numbers for the morning after]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVHoHceecvysqrkJyTkC_2b

The Washington Capitals kicked off their season-long road trip with a heavy loss to a New Jersey Devils team that is likely the NHL’s top squad this year. The 5-1 loss kept the Caps from putting together a three-win streak for the first time this season.

It was a game of opposites.

  • The Caps and Devils in recent seasons have played almost the same exact game every time they have matched up with one another. New Jersey’s speed normally causes Washington fits and they dominate five-on-five possession and chances. However, the Caps would still regularly come out the victor due to the gulf in offensive talent and/or goaltending. That script got flipped on Saturday. The Caps out-attempted the Devils at five-on-five 60 to 33 and similarly out-chanced them 34 to 19. Yet, got blown out. A taste of their own medicine and a sign of two teams headed in opposite directions.
  • Vitek Vanecek was very, very good, but this is your reminder that the team in front of him has been historically good this season. This game, believe it or not, was more of an anomaly for Vitek in terms of how good he was. Typically, this season he has been neither a net positive nor a net negative for the Devils. Before Saturday he had stopped just 0.1 goals above expected according to MoneyPuck which was ranked around 22nd among all starters. New Jersey is just good enough to hide his bad games unlike the Caps of the past couple of seasons.
  • The actual full-on Caps blunder currently residing on the Devils is Jonas Siegenthaler who was dealt so the Caps could play half-a-century-old Zdeno Chara for one season. Siegs did take two penalties in this game but also added an assist and is arguably the best even-strength defenseman in the entire league this season. Take a look at the date stamp on this incredibly painful-to-read thread I tweeted about him in the past.

  • With defenseman Erik Gustafsson on the ice at five-on-five, the Caps out-attempted New Jersey 31 to 16, out-scoring chanced them 19 to 10, and out-high danger chanced them 5 to 3. The only issue is they were out-scored by the Devils 3 to 0 in those same minutes. All three of those goals came from Jack Hughes who Gustafsson spent the most five-on-five time on ice against of any opposition center (7:27). When the two shared the ice, the Caps were out-attempted 11 to 7, out-scoring chanced 7 to 2, and out-high danger chanced 3 to 0.
  • So, that begs the question…why on earth was that matchup allowed to happen? Gustafsson, who bizarrely played the most of any Caps player at five-on-five in the game (18:00), is well known to be incredibly weak defensively. Still, as you can see in the above bullet, he was owning the Devils in every shift not against Hughes’s line. More should have been done to keep that Gustafsson-Carlson pairing away from the literal best offensive player on the other team. That matchup decided the game.
  • One positive that I will draw from the loss is that the newly formed second line of Sonny Milano, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and TJ Oshie seems to be building some excellent, quick chemistry. If Peter Laviolette could resist changing his forward lines every three seconds the Caps could be in for some serious scoring from that trio in the near future. Though, it must be noted that they were incredibly sheltered in this game, starting a total of zero shifts in the defensive zone.

Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.

]]> Sun, 27 Nov 2022 14:47:44 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVHoHceecvysqrkJyTkC_2b <![CDATA[Vitek Vanecek’s revenge: Devils beat Caps 5-1]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWdHuoItd1AIwX50KYzL9tX

The Washington Capitals kicked off their very long roadtrip with a loss to the unstoppable New Jersey Devils. The x-factor: former Capitals goalie Vitek Vanecek.

Despite Washington playing great in the first period, the lone goal belonged to Nico Hischier on the power play. Jack Hughes scored two spectacular goals in the second period — one a wraparound bank off Charlie Lindgren’s pads, the second a shortside snipe off his mask – making it 3-0 after forty minutes. Jack Hughes made it a hat trick in the third period, winning an odd-man rush.

John Carlson got a power-play goal, a monster slapshot from the blue line, momentarily teasing Vitek Vanecek’s mortality. Fabian Zetterlund snapped Jersey’s fifth goal of the game from a below-the-goal-line pass to make it 5-1.

  • The Capitals played fine. Really. It’s just that New Jersey’s star power was undeniable, plus the subject of our next bullet. Gustafsson, Carlson, Eller, and Sheary all made some suspect plays in neutral and the defensive zone that the Devils punished them. I can’t hate on the effort overall though. Just outclassed.
  • Spectacular night for ex-Caps goaltender Vitek Vanecek. Overall this season, he’s been perfectly average behind a superb team, but Saturday’s win belonged to him. According to Natural Stat Trick, he turned away 32 scoring chances and more than two expected goals through two periods. He won this game against his ex team, and as much as it stings we have to respect it. That’s a spite win.

  • I want to stipulate that the Devils posts and crossbar also deserve a lot of credit for this win. Really easy to overlook the posts and crossbars. Real lunch-pail guys, just doing their job and going home, not expecting any thanks, but there they are, stopping like twenty percent of Caps scoring chances and giving me high blood pressure.
  • I guess while we’re on the ex-Caps bit: Jonas Siegenthaler got busted for two penalties. Caps win the trade (for a prospect named Brent Johnson who could be selling jet-skis in two years, who knows.)
  • Alex Ovechkin had his Ovi juices flowing. Seventeen attempts, eight on net. Lots of offense, lots of frustration. None celebration with left wing.
  • I would like to see more video of Garnet Hathaway‘s interference on Michael McLeod. Looks like the Devil saw Hathaway at the last second, or else it could have been a blind headshot.
  • TJ Oshie injured Devils fourth-liner Nathan Bastian early in the first period. I had to check because I wasn’t sure other teams were allowed to get hurt, especially not by Washington.

  • That was the first hat trick for Jack Hughes. It was a natural hat trick, but I don’t have much time for that distinction. The Carlson-Gustafsson pair was on ice for all three of those goals.

The Devils are an unbelievable team. They could double their standings-point total from last season. The Caps did better than I expected they would, which maybe doesn’t speak highly of my expectations.

Late-night games up next. Get ready for RMNB After Dark for what will surely be a weird road trip.

Headline photo: @imhopper

]]> Sun, 27 Nov 2022 04:35:44 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWdHuoItd1AIwX50KYzL9tX <![CDATA[Capitals vs Devils live blog and updates (Nov. 26, 2022)]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWzZFJWZCTGhXMq2h3ehXEp

This is your place to check for updates and comment along with the Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey Devils game on November 26, 2022.

The Washington Capitals will take their longest win streak of the season (two games) into Newark tonight to take on the New Jersey Devils. It will be a difficult test. The Devils have won 14 of their last 15 games and are led by [checks notes] discarded former Capitals Jonas Siegenthaler and Vitek Vanecek.

Both teams may have weary legs. The Capitals are coming off one of their best games of the season — dare I say an almost-full-60 — a 3-0 shutout victory over the Calgary Flames on Friday. New Jersey defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 last night.

Tonight’s game marks the beginning of a Capitals’ six-game, 12-day that will take them into Canada and Seattle before ending in Philly.

Puck drop is a little after 7 pm on NBC Sports Washington. Charlie Lindgren will start against Vanecek.

Links

Tunnel chaos

Lines

1st Period

Comment below. Refresh this article throughout the night as we’ll be updating it live.

]]> Sun, 27 Nov 2022 02:03:09 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWzZFJWZCTGhXMq2h3ehXEp <![CDATA[TJ Oshie flapped Evgeny Kuznetsov’s arm after his highlight-reel goal: ‘We hugged him too fast’]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWynnCs4IzGqAp41t9tiERU

Coincidence or not, the Washington Capitals are 2-0 since TJ Oshie returned to the lineup from a lower-body injury that kept him out 11 games. The Capitals’ new second line, which features Sonny Milano, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Osh, has scored two five-on-five goals together since being put together.

The trio’s latest tally came after a precarious set play between Oshie and Kuznetsov in the Flames’ neutral zone.

Kuznetsov hit Oshie with a long pass at the Flames’ blue line. Oshie, double-teamed, carried the puck up the boards, before giving the puck back to Kuzy who was hard-charging toward the offensive zone.

Kuznetsov’s speed allowed him to score one-on-three, overwhelming three surprised Flames defenders with his stick-handling.

Kuznetsov slid the puck under Jacob Markstrom’s pad as he was falling to the ice.

“That was a nice play by Osh,” Kuznetsov said. “I feel like if we can execute in neutral zone, that pass, you need to have lots of skills because that’s kind of dangerous. I felt like Osh made a pretty good pass to me and those D skated forward and I was able to get between. They weren’t even able to skate backward. That’s why it was good.”

He added, “I was pretty lucky the pad wasn’t on the ice.”

“I mean it was amazing,” Oshie said, gushing about Kuznetsov’s goal. “He does so many things that are so impressive but they’re not surprising anymore.”

As Kuznetsov got up, he was greeted by his teammates for the goal hug. Oshie was so impressed by the tally that he began flapping Kuznetsov’s right arm to mimic the bird celebration.

“Tried to get the eagle going for him,” Oshie said smiling. “We hugged him too fast.”

Kuznetsov was asked why Oshie had to help him do the celly.

“I don’t know,” he said laughing. “I get up and there were guys around me!”

The Capitals have looked somewhat different since Oshie returned, but quantifying that in a meaningful way over two games with stats is difficult and unwise. But eye-test-wise, it seems like the team is playing with a little more confidence.

Perhaps it’s an improved defense, timely saves from the goaltending, or the timing of recent goals. But Oshie’s flapping of Kuznetsov’s arm was also an example of something that had been missing previously, too, as the Capitals have begun sliding to the bottom of the standings.

“Hopefully I’m able to come in and… kind of get the guys having fun again,” Oshie said before he returned on Wednesday. “It looks like it hasn’t been too fun around here lately. We’re playing our best when guys are smiling.”

Oshie brings more to games than high-skill plays and goals. He also brings a ridiculous repertoire of pregame antics that includes tunnel shenanigans and butt taps of every player on the ice during warmups.

“If I’m not bringing positive energy, it’s probably time to send me home,” Oshie said. “It’s one of my characteristics and one of the things I try to bring to the team. I’ll get in there and try to get the guys playing well and having fun again. Having fun and working hard for each other, I think that’ll get us on the right track.”

The Capitals will try to make it three in a row against Metropolitan Division-leading New Jersey on Saturday night.

]]> Sat, 26 Nov 2022 20:04:23 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWynnCs4IzGqAp41t9tiERU <![CDATA[Ivan Miroshnichenko keeps up goal per game pace in MHL with blistering rush slap shot]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVXGmsCxlAW9XOFESPuQWsX

It’s not February just yet but it seemingly is already Groundhog Day over in Russia. Washington Capitals top prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko scored yet another goal in the MHL on Saturday morning.

The 18-year-old sniper now has eight goals in eight games this season for the Omsk Hawks and has scored in seven straight contests.

Miroshnichenko now has eleven total points (8g, 3a) in eight games (although it should be twelve) for the Hawks. On Saturday he once again showed off his howitzer of a slapshot with a rush tally against the Siberian Snipers.

The 2022 first-round draft selection blistered home that marker to tie the game at 2-2. The Hawks would eventually go on to lose 3-2 in a shootout as Miroshnichenko was the only one of his team’s shooters able to convert in the skill contest portion of the game.

Saturday’s game in the MHL was Miroshnichenko’s second game back in the junior MHL league after he put up two points in his first VHL pro league game of the season. The Hawks are now off until December 1.

The Omsk Wings are scheduled to play Yermak Angarsk in the VHL on November 28. That could be the next time we see Miroshnichenko step back on the ice.

Screenshot via OLIMPBET МХЛ/MHL

]]> Sat, 26 Nov 2022 14:16:58 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVXGmsCxlAW9XOFESPuQWsX <![CDATA[The gang wins two hockey games in a row: numbers for the morning after]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SUKtTj45U4xwvnNuMIJyU22

The Washington Capitals sandwiched the Thanksgiving holiday with two wins on home ice. They took down the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime 3-2 on Wednesday and shut out the Calgary Flames 3-0 on Friday.

Those black jerseys are just perfection. I agree with what Kuzy said after the game about them.

  • I didn’t love the Caps’ first period (shocker) but at least this time they were able to survive without giving up anything on the scoreboard and got their play together for their typical final forty-minute push. They out-chanced Calgary 21-12 in those final two frames and really shut things down defensively for much of the latter half of the third.
  • The two wins over Philly and Calgary are only the third pair of consecutive victories the Capitals have this season. I don’t think you need me to tell you how that isn’t good enough. They need to rattle off a bunch in a row now that they’re starting to get “healthier”. Real big emphasis on the air quotes around that last word there because there are still so many key dudes not playing.
  • Darcy Kuemper pitched his second shutout of the season in a 32-stop effort. The 32-year-old netminder absolutely owns the Flames over his career to the tune of a 7-2-1 record with a 1.61 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage. His four career shutouts against them are the most he has against any team.

  • Alex Ovechkin got on the board again for career goal number 791. Ovi has hit a bit of a hot patch recently and is creeping back up toward being a point-per-game player this season with 21 points from 22 games. He is 37 years old and still leading the Caps in scoring by five points.
  • Sonny Milano put in a two-point performance against the team that took a look at him during the preseason and deemed him not good enough for an NHL contract. Milano now has seven points in ten games for the Caps.
  • It’s now time for the longest road trip of the season. The Caps will play their next six as visitors which includes one of their annual trips out west where they’ll see the Vancouver Canucks, Seattle Kraken, Edmonton Oilers, and this same Flames team. Get ready for a lot of hockey at ridiculous hours of the night.

Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.

]]> Sat, 26 Nov 2022 13:20:42 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SUKtTj45U4xwvnNuMIJyU22 <![CDATA[Evgeny Kuznetsov suggests Capitals should go to black Screaming Eagle jersey full time]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWsLJrhKU91WwC0qH-r7xlT

Perhaps it was a joke. Perhaps it was superstition. Whatever the reason, Evgeny Kuznetsov waded into a debate that Capitals fans have been having since the Caps brought back the Screaming Eagle logo for its first Reverse Retro jersey in 2020.

After the Capitals’ 3-0 shutout win over the Calgary Flames, Kuznetsov, who scored in the game, said the Capitals should go with the black sweaters full-time at home moving forward.

“We haven’t been great at home yet, but today was a pretty good win,” Kuznetsov said. “Maybe we have to wear the black jerseys all the time. Feel like people, the fans, get loud and we look much bigger and faster in these jerseys.”

The Screaming Eagle jerseys also appear to be the most popular Reverse Retro sweaters in the NHL. Both Screaming Eagle jerseys sold out online within hours of being released appearing to dwarf sales of other teams.

While black, bronze, and blue are not America’s colors, the eagle and the Capitol Dome logos connect more with the team and the Washington DC area as a whole. The eagle is the national bird and the team’s mascot, Slapshot, is a cartoon eagle.

So far this season, the Capitals are 1-1 with the Screagle. The first game they wore the seater, they fell to the Arizona Coyotes 3-2. But hey, for a team who has a goals differential of minus-eight this season, a plus-two goals differential while wearing those sweaters is nothing to sneeze at.

The Capitals will wear the jerseys five more times this season before retiring them… unless these Kuzy quotes can work their magic behind the scenes.

]]> Sat, 26 Nov 2022 05:43:11 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWsLJrhKU91WwC0qH-r7xlT <![CDATA[Alex Ovechkin high-fives Ovi Jr through the glass immediately after scoring 791st career goal]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVGSborPguUkwaB2UxGNFpJ

Alex Ovechkin scored his 791st career goal against the Calgary Flames, but the most notable part of the play happened immediately afterward.

Unbeknownst to us all, Ovi skated directly over to the glass where his oldest son, Sergei, was sitting and the two had an adorable moment together.

Ovi high-fived the glass and his hockey prodigy son returned the favor.

Sergei was being held by Ovechkin’s close friend, Abe Hamrah, of Designo Motoring.

When Nastya Ovechkina, who is back home in Russia celebrating her birthday with her family, saw the moment, she immediately reposted the video and added tearing up emoji.

After scoring the goal, Ovechkin grabbed the goal puck and took it back with him at the bench. It’s unclear who it was for, but clearly, the moment meant a lot to him.

Ovi also made sure to celebrate the Capitals’ win with Sergei after they got the 3-0 shutout for Darcy Kuemper. Ovi saluted the crowd at center ice before skating down to the other end to acknowledge his son’s contributions to the W.

I dunno, you guys. These two are sincerely so cute together.

Screenshot: NBC Sports Washington

]]> Sat, 26 Nov 2022 04:17:47 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVGSborPguUkwaB2UxGNFpJ <![CDATA[Alex Ovechkin scores 791st career goal against Calgary Flames, now trails Gordie Howe by 10 on all-time goals list]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVL7zdnTwqUCwVLTsI7B9NX

Alex Ovechkin is quickly closing in on milestone goal number 800.

Ovi beat Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the short side with a shot from the left circle. The power-play goal gave the Capitals a 3-0 lead late in the third period.

It was Ovi’s 791th career goal of his career and his 11th he’s scored in the 2022-23 season. The Capitals captain now has three goals in his last four games.

Ovechkin benefitted from some absent-minded penalty killing by the Flames. With all four Flames on the right side of the ice, the Russian superstar was left all alone on Ovi Island. A reminder: Ovechkin has the most PPG in NHL history.

The Flames instantly regretted it.

Conor Sheary hit Ovechkin with a pass. The dish was off target, but Ovi caught the puck with his skate, kicked it to his blade, and fired a wrister that Markstrom had no chance on.

The PPG was Ovi’s 291st of his career and the 147th PPG he’s scored at home, moving within one of Teemu Selanne (148) for third-most in NHL history. Ovechkin now has five goals in 10 career games against Markstrom.

Incredibly, Ovechkin now sits 10 goals away from tying Gordie Howe on the NHL’s all-time goals list. He’s 103 behind record-holder Wayne Gretzky with three more seasons after this one on his contract.

]]> Sat, 26 Nov 2022 01:53:12 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVL7zdnTwqUCwVLTsI7B9NX <![CDATA[Caps shut out Flames 3-0 before big road trip]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SUw8roQ5DCJziuZukmJ4mr4

The Washington Capitals shook off turkey hangovers to host the Calgary Flames on Friday afternoon. The Capitals played a smart and sturdy game, exploiting Calgary’s goofs whenever they were made.

The Caps held off the Flames’ attack in the first period and earned a goal of their own off TJ Oshie’s stick. Evgeny Kuznetsov wrapped up a strong second period with a highlight-reel goal that we’ll discuss more in a moment. During a third-period power play, Alex Ovechkin kicked to settle down his puck and beat Jacob Markstrom to make it 3-0.

Caps win. DK gets the shutout.

  • Great performance from Darcy Kuemper. 32 saves and three expected goals.
  • Evgeny Kuznetsov‘s goal, by complexity factors: one on three, sliding, goalie looking right at you.

  • After the goal, TJ Oshie tried to get Kuznetsov to do the bird celly. It’s too soon to say what Oshie’s performance level will be since his injury, but I’m just glad he’s back on the ice.

  • The Caps were just okay in the first period, but they really controlled play in the second, outgunning the Flames in every five-on-five stat. Considering the Flames have one of the best top sixes in the league, I think that’s a significant accomplishment for the Caps.
  • Just some out-of-town drama. This is scandalous from Matt Murray. He reportedly did it three times today.

  • The Flames lost a goal in the third as Milan Lucic got busted for interference just before the puck hit the net. Also noteworthy: Milan Lucic is still in the NHL.

  • Alex Ovechkin now trails Gordie Howe by ten goals.

Very good game. The kind of game I’d expect out of a normal Caps team. This is praise.

Now begins the longest road trip of the season. We will see New Jersey, Vancouver, Seattle, Calgary, Edmonton, and Philadelphia before the Caps come home. I’m feeling much better about this trip than I was one week ago.

Headline photo: @markaltman18

]]> Fri, 25 Nov 2022 23:34:23 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SUw8roQ5DCJziuZukmJ4mr4 <![CDATA[Capitals vs Flames live blog and updates (Nov. 25, 2022)]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SUdeDeKyG4Afgpx5_w21kha

This is your place to check for updates and comment along with the Washington Capitals vs. Calgary Flames game on November 25, 2022.

The Washington Capitals will throw on their Reverse Retro 2.0 jerseys for just the second time as they take on the Calgary Flames in their annual Black Friday matinee game at Capital One Arena. All fans who attend will get a free Screaming Eagle t-shirt (which one of my good friends helped put out on the seats over the last two days).

The Capitals are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers – that was both painful to watch but somewhat encouraging, I guess. Alex Ovechkin scored his 10th goal of the season and the 790th of his career.

What to watch for? To say that the Capitals need to go on a run – like right now – is the understatement of the century. The Caps trail first-place New Jersey by 13 points in the standings and are only FOUR points out of last. And that team behind them, Columbus, has two games in hand. The Caps’ chance of making the postseason, per Money Puck (which is more pessimistic than other models), is currently 9.7 percent.

TJ Oshie returned from injury on Wednesday and was everywhere against the Flyers, notching assists on both Capitals’ regulation goals. Can he have another strong game and stay healthy?

Dmitry Orlov will miss his ninth straight game while Darcy Kuemper will look to bounce back from a tough game.

Today’s game will be on NBC Sports Washington and puck drop will be a little after 2 pm.

Links

I’m doing a SDPN podcast after the game

Lines

No NAK, Snively, or Alexeyev. Orlov remains out.

Tunnel craziness

Behold the Screagle turkey!

1st Period

Comment below. Refresh this article throughout the night as we’ll be updating it live.

]]> Fri, 25 Nov 2022 20:45:08 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SUdeDeKyG4Afgpx5_w21kha <![CDATA[The NHL Shop’s Black Friday Sale]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SXgPBAhCoHm2_nNuMIJyU22

Note: RMNB may receive compensation for orders made through the NHL Shop links in this article. Those funds will be used to pay our writers, improve our infrastructure, and help us create more great content for you. It’s one of the easiest ways to support the site.

Need to buy hockey presents for the loved one in your life? The NHL’s online store is offering 30 percent off orders for Black Friday. Just use the code NHLBF.

The 30 percent offer lasts through midnight tonight. Search now!

Here are some of the good deals I found:

There are some exceptions to the promotion, like Capitals’ Reverse Retro gear that was just released. But I think the fact that there IS Capitals’ Reverse Retro gear still available is the important takeaway.

Peruse the store now.

]]> Fri, 25 Nov 2022 20:01:44 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SXgPBAhCoHm2_nNuMIJyU22 <![CDATA[Capitals hold Thanksgiving Day practice]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVLya6GAjbwruifqJurszLU

The Washington Capitals held a skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, Thursday morning.

The Thanksgiving Day practice was necessitated due to the team’s Black Friday game against the Calgary Flames. Puck drop is at 2 pm (the time players usually nap ahead of normal 7 pm games) and Washington was not going to host a morning skate.

Head coach Peter Laviolette had no significant line changes after the Capitals managed to end their four-game losing streak with a win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. Alex Ovechkin scored the overtime game-winner to give the Caps the 3-2 comeback victory.

The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir reported how the team lined up.

Dmitry Orlov skated on an extra pairing with Alex Alexeyev suggesting he still is not ready to return from his injury. Nicolas Aube-Kubel took reps with Aliaksei Protas on the left wing of the fourth line. Protas dressed on Wednesday while NAK sat against the Flyers. Joe Snively was the extra.

The Capitals also did work on the power play. The first unit remains unchanged while the second unit no longer includes Anthony Mantha. The forwards include Evgeny Kuznetsov, Conor Sheary, and Sonny Milaon.

The second power-play unit also includes Trevor van Riemsdyk, but as El-Bashir pointed out on Twitter, that is not a change. TVR has been in that spot for a number of weeks, but no one would know because Alex Ovechkin usually stays on the ice for the entire two minutes of the power play.

After the Capitals’ game against the Flames, the team will travel up to Newark to take on the New Jersey Devils who have won 13 of their last 14 games. The Devils’ long winning streak ended on Wednesday against the Maple Leafs after they had three goals overturned.

]]> Thu, 24 Nov 2022 22:59:09 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVLya6GAjbwruifqJurszLU <![CDATA[Ivan Miroshnichenko scores seventh goal in seven MHL games with rocket one-timer from Ovi spot]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVUv9pU6airuarkJyTkC_2b

Washington Capitals super prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko was back on the ice in an MHL sweater with the Omsk Hawks on Thanksgiving morning. The 18-year-old offensive dynamo made a very successful, quick foray into the senior VHL league to start the week but has returned to the junior league to get even more ice time.

He picked up right where he left off, tallying three points to give him 11 total (7g, 4a) in just seven MHL games.

The 2022 Caps’ first-round draft selection helped his team kick off their scoring with a secondary assist. He didn’t have a ton to do with the eventual goal but getting an assist via helping filter possession counts just the same as any sort of spin-o-rama, no-look, backhand saucer pass.

He really put his individual stamp on the game with the Hawks on a two-man advantage in the back half of the second period. The talented winger set up in the left offensive zone faceoff circle. The same one that Caps captain Alex Ovechkin is very familiar with. There, he slammed home a one-time rocket for his seventh goal in seven MHL games.

Finally, he added another assist by basically banking the puck in off one of his teammates set up in front of the goal. For some bizarre reason, he wasn’t officially credited with the apple on this play but he very obviously should get one as it doesn’t happen without him. Everyone needs to contact their nearest MHL representative. This is an outrage.

Thursday’s game also featured Miroshnichenko’s first notable time killing penalties. That likely indicates that any sort of minutes restriction he once potentially had has been lifted.

With the three points in the game, he now has 13 points on the season from eight matches played both in the MHL and VHL. He only just made his return from serious Hodgkin’s lymphoma treatment less than three weeks ago.

Keep on going, Ivan!

Screenshot via OLIMPBET МХЛ/MHL

]]> Thu, 24 Nov 2022 14:14:22 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SVUv9pU6airuarkJyTkC_2b <![CDATA[A much needed Capitals victory and a Happy Thanksgiving: numbers for the morning after]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWIky_pmZ5TzmZMehmtHS8-

The Washington Capitals ended their four-game losing streak with a 3-2 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. The Caps needed overtime to do it against a Flyers team on their own seven-game losing streak but they all count the same.

At least, that’s what I tell myself.

  • Happy Thanksgiving! I’m thankful for all of you that read these posts every morning and this nice Caps win. The Caps deserved this one and would have been very, very unfortunate to not pick up the full two points that they did. Natural Stat Trick had the expected goals as 3.60 to 1.96 in favor of the Caps.
  • The only reason the Flyers were really in the game and earned a point is that Darcy Kuemper could not for the life of him see the puck clearly. It wasn’t like he was being screened a ton, he just could not track the puck. Both goals against were weak and the posts behind him made an additional four or five stops on top of his 17 saves on 19 Philly shots.
  • Alex Ovechkin grabbed the eventual overtime winner, his tenth goal of the season and the 790th of his career. Felix Sandstrom joined the “new goalie Ovi has scored against” club as the 164th member.

  • TJ Oshie is back and I thought he was absolutely everywhere out there. He assisted on both regulation Capitals goals, took three shots on net, had five individual scoring chances, drew a penalty, and had a team-high seven hits. Welcome back, Oshbabe. Stay healthy, puh-leez.
  • Sonny Milano came up clutch with the tying goal in the third. The marker was his fifth point in nine games for the Caps which is well over a 40-point pace over a full regular season. Really savvy, mid-season acquisition although it was also a rather obvious and almost desperate one given the injury situation.
  • Connor McMichael is already on the board in Hershey with the Bears. The 21-year-old center scored in Hershey’s 2-1 victory over the Springfield Thunderbirds. It was his second game back in the AHL and his 15th career goal in the league.

Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.

]]> Thu, 24 Nov 2022 13:35:37 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SWIky_pmZ5TzmZMehmtHS8- <![CDATA[Devils fans litter ice with trash after three goals called back by officials in winning-streak snapping loss]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SXil2hJxbK1gFhGNgNo2_0q

The New Jersey Devils entered home-ice action against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night winners of 13 games in a row. The Metropolitan Division leaders are one of only three teams to already eclipse the 30 standings point mark in the National Hockey League.

That pretty picture turned ugly on Wednesday though. The Devils not only had their winning streak snapped by the Leafs but also saw their fans chuck a whole slew of garbage onto the ice in response to three straight goals being overturned by the officials.

The trashy affair started with 11:07 left in the third period as New Jersey’s Erik Haula was ruled to have kicked a puck into the Toronto net. It was the finale of a hat trick of Devils goals called back in their 2-1 loss.

The first two goals came back due to goaltender interference on both Nathan Bastian and Tomas Tatar. After the third, debris rained down. Haula could be seen urging fans to stop making a mess out of their own Prudential Center ice.

“It’s disappointing,” Leafs captain John Tavares said postgame. “It’s dangerous. Yeah, it is what it is. I think it felt better to beat the crowd than the Devils tonight.”

The Devils did not receive a delay of game penalty, which the officials can call in situations like this one, for their fan’s actions. Not only was it a dangerous situation in general for fans and players alike but it also appeared to be a massive waste of beer.

“It’s full beers,” forward Mitch Marner added. It’s dangerous. We’re not looking for that. We’re not seeing it coming. Dodged a couple. It’s a dangerous thing. I don’t know why it’s our fault. They’re throwing them to try and hit us. It’s the first I’ve ever seen. It’s insane.”

The Devils’ next game at home comes against the Washington Capitals on November 26. The same Capitals that handed New Jersey a loss right before the start of this now-ended, thirteen-game streak.

Screenshot via Sportsnet

]]> Thu, 24 Nov 2022 06:39:02 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SXil2hJxbK1gFhGNgNo2_0q <![CDATA[Alex Ovechkin’s 790th career goal is an overtime game-winner against the Flyers]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SXbZURU26-7LLDXWBZfdr71

Tied 2-2 with the Washington Capitals, the Philadelphia Flyers felt extra giving in overtime.

After seemingly not possessing the puck at all during the extra session, the Flyers watched helplessly as Alex Ovechkin scored on a one-timer from the left circle to give the Capitals a 3-2 comeback win. Ovechkin was set up brilliantly by Dylan Strome.

The victory ended the Capitals’ losing streak at four and extended the Flyers skid to eight games.

The goal marked Ovechkin’s 10th goal of the 2022-23 campaign, marking the 18th straight season he’s had double-digit goals.

It was also the 790th tally of his career.

Ovechkin now trails second-place Gordie Howe by 11 goals and record-holder Wayne Gretzky by 104 on the NHL’s all-time goals list.

Flyers rookie goaltender Felix Sandstrom got the loss, but he now goes down in the NHL record books. Sandstrom is the 164th different goalie Ovi has scored on. That ties Ovi with Mark Messier for third all-time.

This extra detail to the stat Capitals PR shared is pretty amazing.

The goal was also Ovi’s 123rd career game-winner.

Including the playoffs, Ovi now has 133 game-winning goals – third-most in NHL history.

Ovechkin thought he scored no. 790 earlier in the game, but Marcus Johansson touched the puck with the tip of his blade as it crossed the goal line.

TNT’s panel asked Ovechkin after the game, if he would blame Mojo if he falls one short of Gretzky at the end of his career.

“No,” he said. “Right now it doesn’t matter who scores. I had plenty of chances to put the puck in the net. Still plenty of games to go.”

Photo: @clapsforcaps/Twitter

]]> Thu, 24 Nov 2022 06:01:46 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SXbZURU26-7LLDXWBZfdr71 <![CDATA[Connor McMichael scores goal for Hershey Bears in second game back in AHL]]> https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SXbZURU26-7LGZMehmtHS8-

Washington Capitals prospect Connor McMichael was sent down to the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears on Sunday to make room for TJ Oshie on the NHL roster. Later that night, he made his AHL season debut on Hershey’s second line.

On Wednesday, in just his second game back with the Bears, he already has his first goal.

It came in Hershey’s 2-1 victory over the Springfield Thunderbirds.

The play starts with Henrik Borgstrom collecting a puck along the right boards in the Bears’ offensive zone and finding McMichael who had made a smart cut toward the net. McMichael then curls the puck around a defender’s check and snipes it home over the Springfield netminder’s blocker side.

It was the 21-year-old center’s 15th career goal for the Bears after leading them in scoring during the 2020-21 season with 27 points (14g, 13a) in 33 games. He has been skating on the team’s second line with Borgstrom and fellow Caps prospect Henrik Rybinski.

McMichael drew into just six games for the Caps this season after a rookie season that saw him play 68 games and record 18 points (9g, 9a). Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette talked about the opportunity the young forward has with this move back to the AHL level.

“I spoke to Connor this morning,” Laviolette said. “I think from just a development standpoint to get down there and play some games, play 20-22 minutes a night, get in the middle of the ice, take faceoffs, power play, and get some confidence back. I talked to him this morning and he was excited to go play some games.”

In both games, McMichael has led Hershey in shots on goal with four in each. He is also receiving first-unit power play time.

“He’s just gotta play,” Laviolette continued. “He’s gotta get out there and he’s gotta have great nights, good nights, tough nights. He’s gotta score some goals and be counted on defensively. Just get back to having some fun playing the game. He needs to play more than nine minutes. Just go back and play some hockey. He was excited just to go play.”

Screenshot via @TheHersheyBears/Twitter

]]> Thu, 24 Nov 2022 05:55:47 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/U-yPhZP34SXbZURU26-7LGZMehmtHS8-