The Washington Capitals returned from a long winter nap and visited Canada’s Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs were without captain Auston Matthews, but the Caps returned captain Alex Ovechkin.
Max Pacioretty forced a turnover and John Tavares tipped in to put the Leafs ahead. Too much space was given to Andrew Mangiapane and the game was tied after just 90 seconds. Before the first period ended, Jacob Chishurun hit a one-timer shot from above the faceoff dot to give Washington the lead.
Bobby McMann tied the game with another rushing attack in the second period, but the Caps again responded quickly. Nick Dowd regained the lead about 100 seconds later.
The Caps extended their lead with a power play goal in the third period. Tom Wilson had the final touch, but the real playmaker there was Dylan Strome, who stole the puck behind the goal line. As soon as the net was empty, Alex Ovechkin hit it.
Cap wins!
Alex Ovechkin essentially returned to action on Nov. 18 after breaking his foot. Spencer Carberry said he “played hard,” but not completely, playing about 90 seconds less than linemate Dylan Strome. That’s fine. He scored a goal anyway, but we’re still going to put him back in this situation. He has a lot of time until tomorrow at 5 p.m., when he needs to fill the Wings with the puck. Much of this game was played at full strength 5-on-5. When the whistle blew, some had a surprising attitude toward Pierre-Luc Dubois, who held a stick near William Nylander. The Dubois-Wilson-McMichael line really, really struggled. They couldn’t do anything and were on the ice for Tavares’ first goal. However, credit must be given to Max Pacioretty for his heads-up play that allowed this goal to happen. Ana, an RMNB alumnus, is responsible for my love for Patch during his Hab days, but I thought he was cooked by the time he came to Washington. I’m glad he still has some spark. I wish he could have spent one more night though. Back to Nylander, I hope this save from Logan Thompson sticks with him. The defensive duo of Matt Roy and Martin Fehevary also had a tough night. They drew the short straw against Nylander. I can’t praise any other Leafs player here because I’ve already pumped up Pacioretty’s tires, but if I had to, it would be Willie. Nick Dowd committed no penalty. Two full weeks and seven games have passed since the final whistle. He also scored a goal. It’s a shame that Lars Eller is still out due to illness. It’s been 10 days. I’ll disclose it when I want to, but I’m worried. According to the scoreboard outside Enron, the Rangers lost to the Bolts. Desus called first and I support him. It’s happening. Let’s deposit it in the bank.
Peter Laviolette, you better count your days
— Desus MF Nice💯 (@desusnice) December 29, 2024
I love Alan May. he loves me too I’m glad he’ll be replacing Craig Laughlin for a while. He is a smart and polite analyst. Politely ask the production team to add some low end to the audio signal. It looks like he’s singing the intro to “Dead And Bloated.”
And it’s back #JoveSuit of the Night pic.twitter.com/iLRP4LExN1
— RMNB (@rmnb) December 28, 2024
I’m a humble man. I don’t ask for too much. All I wanted tonight was a healthy Ovechkin, a well-played game, two standing points, a humiliating loss for Toronto, Dowd’s stick out of reach, an empty netter from Ovi, a flashy glove save, and All I had to do was get to know the Rangers. We are losing elsewhere. That’s enough for me. This is the gift of simplicity This is the gift of being free
See you in about 20 hours. The Red Wings will be taking a break, but they’re also the Red Wings, so it’s a waste of time.
