Caps Take on Kings
Caps conclude set of back-to-backs on Wednesday in LA
Washington's West Coast foray continues on Wednesday night in Los Angeles when the Caps face the Kings at Staples Center. The four-game journey started with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Ducks in Anaheim on Tuesday, a setback that halted Washington's winning streak at four.
Playing with a trio of rookie centers in the lineup, and playing with six rookies in its lineup for the first time in nearly 11 years, Washington managed to squeeze a point out of Tuesday's game despite trailing by a goal going into the third period. One of those rookies - center Garrett Pilon - netted his first NHL goal in the final frame to tie the game at 1-1, becoming the fifth freshman to score his first goal in the League for the Capitals this season.
Anaheim regained the lead on a Trevor Zegras goal midway through the third, and the Caps needed Tom Wilson's deflection goal with 2:32 left to force overtime, but Zegras won it for the Ducks with his second of the night in the final minute of the extra session.
For the first 40 minutes of Tuesday's game in Anaheim, the Caps didn't look likely to get any points out of the game. They've rarely put two lackluster periods together this season, but the first two on Tuesday lacked cohesion and ignition. But three big saves from Vitek Vanecek in short succession late in the second gave them a chance; they were still only one puck down heading into the final 20 minutes.
Washington has earned at least a point in 14 of 16 games this season, and each of its two regulation losses has been a one-goal defeat.
"It seems like every time I talk after a game, it's kind of the same formula," says Caps defenseman John Carlson. "When we take care of the puck and don't turn it over, we get to play in their zone more and we can be aggressive and deadly. And when we're turning it over, we're just feeding into what other teams are.
"I think LA is pretty much the same way that [the Ducks] play through the neutral zone, and it's kind of similar to the way we play. Maybe we're a little bit more aggressive than those teams, but fort the most part, what's there is getting the [red] line and getting it deep. But we're a good forechecking team, and when we can allow ourselves to do that instead of turning over too many pucks, then we're a really good team."
With three rookie centers manning the middle of the ice - and with a combined total of fewer than 20 games worth of NHL experience among them at puck drop - face-offs were an issue all night. The Caps won three of 13 draws (23%) in the first period and five of 19 (26%) in the second before taking nine of the last 20 (45%) in the third period and overtime. Through two periods, Pilon accounted for half of Washington's dot wins, taking four of six.
"That's possession, so we've just got to keep battling," says Caps coach Peter Lavilotte. "Right now we're in it with regard to that; there's nothing you can do. I thought our guys - in spite of that - kept fighting to try and get possession and get it back if we didn't win it off the face-off, whether it be forechecks or forechecks off the face-off, or just defending at that point. There are a couple of experienced centermen on their team as well."
Wednesday's game is the back half of Washington's second set of back-to-back games in a week and its fifth game in seven nights. The Caps conclude the trip with their third set of back-to-backs in 11 days, playing on Saturday in San Jose and on Sunday in Seattle.
The Kings are back home from a highly successful road trip and are opening a seven-game homestand on Wednesday against Washington. Los Angeles won't play on the road again until a Dec. 5 date against the Oilers in Edmonton. The home stay matches the Kings' longest of the season; they've got another seven game homestand ahead, wrapped around the turn of the calendar from Dec. 28-Jan. 13.
Los Angeles completed a four-game tour of Canada on Saturday night with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Jets in Winnipeg, the only setback it suffered on the trip. The Kings earned victories in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa before reaching Winnipeg, and they allowed a total of just six goals during the four games on the road.
