Saturday night’s game in Vegas marked the sixth time Washington has faced the Golden Knights in the regular season, and the sixth time the Caps have failed to win here. Vegas took a 4-1 decision from the Caps here on Saturday night, leaving Washington with an all-time record of 0-5-1 at T-Mobile Arena in the regular season.
Jonathan Marchessault scored twice, and Jack Eichel and Mark Stone added single strikes to pace the Golden Knights’ attack, and Logan Thompson stopped 21 of 22 shots to earn the victory in the Vegas net.
“We just couldn’t generate enough puck possession in the offensive zone,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “Whether that was forecheck related, puck recovery related, or execution in tight areas where our plays were getting broken up.
“And our start was all right. I thought we were all right in the first. We probably didn’t do enough with some of those pucks early on, that we could have probably turned into some sustained pressure, some more delivery, some more shots on goal. But I thought our start was fine, and then in the second period they took over. We weren’t able to generate nearly as much as we need to, puck possession wise.”
Early in the day on Saturday, the Caps were faced with some adversity and some challenges. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren was unable to take the ice at morning skate because of illness, and he was unavailable for Saturday’s game as well. Washington recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard from AHL Hershey, but he had to travel from Charlotte, N.C., and he did not make it to Vegas in time to take warmups. Once Shepard did arrive, he warmed up and stretched in the locker room before appearing on the bench after the start of the contest.
The first 40 minutes of the game were essentially all Vegas. They had four power plays to none for Washington, they outshot the Caps by 27-9, and by second intermission the Golden Knights had as many goals – two – as Washington had shots on net from its dozen forwards. All five of the Caps’ first-period shots on goal came from blueliners, and only one came from inside of 30 feet from the net.
The Caps pulled the trigger on 20 shot attempts in the first, but 11 of them were blocked, and four missed the mark. Whistled for three minor penalties in the second period, the Caps were only able to muster 10 shot attempts in the middle frame, getting four on net.
Washington’s first shot on net from a forward came off the stick of Tom Wilson at 8:13 of the second period, less than a minute after Eichel scored on a breakaway to double the Vegas lead to 2-0.
“We really struggled to get pucks to the interior,” says Carbery. “Whether that’s a shot, whether that’s looking or a pass, or whether that’s looking for a high tip – anything to get a puck to the interior – you’ve got to give [the Knights] credit. They do a really good job. But at the same time, I think we’ve got some players that should be able to get pucks to the interior, and we just weren’t nearly good enough at being able to do that.”
Marchessault staked the Golden Knights to a 1-0 lead on a Vegas power play at 8:53 of the first.
Washington’s best scoring opportunity in the first didn’t result in a shot on net. Sonny Milano and Hendrix Lapierre tried to work the give-and-go off the rush, but Milano’s return feed to Lapierre at the back door failed to click.
Vegas took control of the contest in the middle period, doubling its lead on the Eichel goal. And when Stone scored 50 seconds into the third off a sublime feed from Eichel, the Caps were in a three-goal ditch.
Washington managed to generate some looks and chances in the final period, and Wilson’s fourth goal in two games spoiled Thompson’s shutout bid with just over three minutes remaining. Wilson’s goal was a 6-on-5 strike with Darcy Kuemper pulled for a sixth attacker, the Caps’ third goal of that ilk this season.
Marchessault’s second goal of the night was a long distance shot into the vacated Caps cage, accounting for the 4-1 final.
Saturday’s game marked the fourth time in the five games that the Caps have been limited to two or fewer goals, and it’s tough to stack up wins and points in the NHL without a more prolific and consistently dangerous attack. Over that span, the trio of Aliaksei Protas, Connor McMichael and Anthony Mantha has been the team’s most consistently strong line.
“For our team, I think it's pretty clear,” says Strome. “The lines that have success is Pro, Mikey and Mo; they have been leading that front for us. I think [Nic Dowd’s] line usually does it as well, but they hold onto pucks, they make plays, they don't turn it over, and they make plays in [the offensive zone].
“I think we can learn something from that. They've been the best line for the last four or five games, six games. There's something to say about all that, because they play really well. So we’ve got to follow their lead, and the other lines need to start doing that, because we obviously have no zone time. We're one and done a lot, and they're just coming back at us. So obviously not good enough tonight, but we can still salvage a pretty good road trip in Arizona, and we’ve got to look forward.”
