On the lords day our Caps headed over to Chicago to get a nice 4-2 win over a franchise hat franchise that its current state is in shambles minus Bedard because that kid is unreal.
After a relatively quiet first period with no goals, the Hawks got on the board first. This goal against seemed to spark the boys.
On a great pass from Connor McMichael (playing in his 100th game) to Mantha who has been awful as of late showed a glimpse of the star he was and can be in this game with a nice forehand backhand to notch the game at 1-1.
Having McMichael on the same line as Mantha has given him a spark I haven’t seen because he has been a traffic cone most of the season so far. It has been most notable in the transition area of the ice moving from defense to offense on the fly because that’s where the 2v1 and 3v2 rushes occur.
After some great physicality by TJ Oshie who has been out due to an upper body injury, Strome was able to take advantage with some nice tic tac toe passing Strome was able to sneak on the doorstep to beat the Hawks goalie for the lead and his 11th goal of the season.
After a gongshow in-front of the net at first looked like Beck Malenstyn stayed patient and was able to slide the puck 5-hole, but after review it is seen that Nic Dowd from his backside was able to get his stick on the puck before it crossed the red line.
This marks Dowd’s 4th career multi-goal game and his first since Dec. 19, 2022.
The score was 4-1 late in the in the 3rd until Connor Bedard decided to show his skills and some dangles and an absolutely disgusting backhand sauce pass to make the final 4-2 in favor of the Caps.
I would be remise to mention the play of Evgeny Kuznetsov who was on the third line with Milano and Oshie, was playing his balls off out their tonight it was that noticeable so glad to see the healthy scratch fired him up and is trying to prove his worth.
With back to back great outings from our goalies. Darcy Kuemper stopped 32 of 34 shots and notched his 7th consecutive win against Chicago dating back to 2019. I know this wasn’t like Lindgren beating the Rangers but a win is a win and I’ll take it.
This team is mediocre at best but I feel like Carbery is getting a lot out of the guys given that our overall talent isn’t anywhere near the top of the league.
The boys get a couple days of rest before they play again on Thursday in Philly.
The Morning Skate 