Washington Capitals Beat Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in Overtime
No Oshie, no Kuznetsov, no Orpik and no Holtby no problem the Washington Capitals beat one of the best teams in the Western Conference 3-2 in overtime.
This was a high intense game from both teams tonight. Tom Wilson showed a lot of intensity all night and gave Nicklas Backstrom a great pass for the game winning goal.
Unfortunately former Washington Capital Philip Grubauer takes a lose tonight against his former team. Both goalies played great with Copley again playing great stopping 24 shots while Grubauer stopped 26 shots.
It was a homecoming for Grubauer getting to see his old teammates from last, and getting his well deserved Stanley Cup ring today. Grubauer was a major contributor for the Capitals last year stepping up big time during the second half of the year, and spent six years with the Capitals organization.
Copley was the better goalie tonight who sat behind Grubauer the past few seasons as the third string goalie, and the number one goalie in Hershey last year. Copley showed how much of a competitor he is coming off his NHL debut with a 6-0 lost and has been great during this Western conference trip.
His positioning is great, he has great speed and looks confident. Copley is showing how he can take over Grubauer’s role, and beat Grubauer tonight.
The Capitals started the night trailing when Carl Soderberg started the night giving Colorado a 1-0 lead.
Later in the second period Davonte Smith-Pelly ties the game. Later Alex Ovechkin did what he does best scoring goals to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead going into the third period.
The third period was tough for the Capitals killing penalties, but they did what the best they could do, but the Avalanche tied the game.
The Capitals went on the power-play with less than a minute left in the giving them a power-play in overtime and Nicklas Backstrom sealed the deal during that power-play to give the Capitals a 3-2 win.
The Colorado Avalanche have arguably the best top line in the league with players like Mikko Rantanen and Nathan McKinnon who each lead the NHL in points, but with smart hockey, skill and great teamwork the Capitals come on top with an injured team get the win.
