Green Line Brawl

GLB's three stars of the game:

⭐️ Charlie Lindgren (29 SV, .967 SV%)
⭐️⭐️ Ryan Leonard (1G, +2, 1 hit)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Jakob Chychrun (1G, +2, 1 block)

#ALLCAPS

It's a bit late to get it going, but it's nice to see it's still in there and that these guys can still have fun and win a tough game. Next up is hopefully redemption, with a second Saturday matinee against the Bruins. I'll be there and thoughts should be coming late, but I'm sure I'll have plenty.

I guess this is what Carbery wanted all those weeks ago. The Caps made the Sabres play something closer to "their" style of game, even if they were worse at it through forty minutes. Low-scoring, not too fast-paced, leaning on the defense and great goaltending, and coming up big at the right time.

And then Protas and Chychrun combine for the game winner at the absolute perfect time. Buffalo's timeout couldn't stop their momentum and there wasn't enough time to really get into their groove with the pulled goalie, less than a minute and a half with him off.

That Ryan Leonard goal was so big. Obviously, with it being a 2-1 game, every goal is big, but I can only imagine how limp they would have come out in the third had they been losing all night and seeing no results from their efforts to that point. His individual effort kept them alive.

The low shot count through two makes a lot of sense for DC if you watched. They didn't have any great zone time and special teams weren't great no matter who had the advantage. They didn't really rally until the third, but they did hard.

There were seventeen Washington blocks, the Sabres missed a bunch, and still Buffalo got to 30 shots. They normally get out-attempted by their opponents but that wasn't the case tonight, far from it. 67-51 attempts and 30-23 shots after Washington had to get 12 of those 23 in the third.

Brandon Duhaime was blocking like a defenseman. Five big ones.

Tom Wilson was still doing his best to lead the team on the ice tonight. Four shots, some really good looks, and two hits. Less rough stuff than last night, a more reasonable amount. If even one of his chances went in it'd be an even crazier game than it already was.

Charlie Lindgren had a job to do and he did it. He had a lot against him with it being the end of a road back-to-back, a defenseman he's never played behind, a Caps team that tends to play worse with him anyway, and a Sabres team that likes to barrage big shots at their opponents. He held strong.

I have no idea. The Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1. It doesn't seem right intuitively, it doesn't seem right on paper, but any given Thursday, I guess. 🧵 #ALLCAPS

Protas gets it out and Chychrun shoots it without even thinking about it. The Capitals are winning. Do you believe? #ALLCAPS

SOG watch: the Capitals have ALMOST made it into double figures. 25-9 lol

That wasn't a great period, but it might have been better, and it results in a tie going into the third period. I don't know how Buffalo isn't up four, but they're not. Leonard's goal equalized things and they've escaped Sabres PPs and Caps PPs alike (equally dangerous for Washington). #ALLCAPS

Leno does it all by himself and, improbably, this is a tie game. #ALLCAPS

The Caps make it into the first intermission down 1-0 to the Sabres. Tage Thompson absolutely shelled Lindgren with big shots on that late power play and he was game, maybe used to it from taking Ovi's in practice. To only be down one after how they got outplayed is a small miracle. #ALLCAPS

Not sure how Beck Malenstyn got this so perfectly to Sam Carrick but he did, and so the Sabres go up 1-0 on the Caps. #ALLCAPS

I denied it for a while, but it is in fact game day. The win-streaking Buffalo Sabres are more than ready for the pants-off-streaking Washington Capitals tonight. With the back-to-back, the effort and talent disparity, and how the Caps play in front of Lindgren, it's shaping up to be bad. #ALLCAPS

It's coming, even if we have to keep reminding ourselves

GLB's three stars of the game:

⭐️ Tom Wilson (2 SOG, 1 block, 6 hits)
⭐️⭐️ Ryan Leonard (1G, 2 SOG, 4 hits)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Rasmus Sandin (1 hit, penalty drawn)

#ALLCAPS

The Sabres have won their last eight games, most recently beating the Sharks 6-3 yesterday. I'm not looking forward to that.

The Flyers' speed and defensive aggression won out in the end, and the Capitals just didn't have more than one good period in them tonight. Both teams play tomorrow, and both are tough matchups. Philly goes to Minnesota, Washington goes to Buffalo.

Chychrun was on for all four goals against, which is partially a function of him playing basically 25 minutes and partially up-and-down play. He also found himself in the box and couldn't really get any offense going, whether at even strength or on the power play.

Logan Thompson's numbers, as is typical of games he loses, look worse than he actually played. It's also tilted by the lower shot volume, as he only saw 20.

Liljegren's debut went about as well as can be expected. He didn't play too much, only 14:48, but he blocked more shots than anyone and even threw a decent shot on goal. He took a penalty, too, which means he'll fit right in with this group.

Sandin was impressive too, also disregarding his standing up for the Caps MVP. He showcased some great puck movement and control, creating opportunity against a team good at shutting that kinda thing down. Unfortunate that all his shots missed and he couldn't be rewarded for those efforts.

Even without the attempts at getting something sparked through physical play, Wilson was one of the better players on the ice tonight. He got good chances offensively and helped keep the Flyers power play scoreless.

Brandon Duhaime and Nikita Grebenkin really wanted to fight all night and I dunno why they didn't just do it. Would have been fun at least.

Not a whole lot to say about this one. It was a bit heated, but nothing over the top. Wilson got mad a lot and threw some good hits, Sandin went after Tippett for tapping Thompson, a few punches but no real fights.

That'll do it in Philadelphia. The Flyers beat the Capitals 4-1 in a game they didn't start hot in but figured out along the way. Washington did their usual, falling apart in the second and failing to spark a comeback on time. #ALLCAPS