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Capitals down Blues 4-3 in our NHL 20 simulation

By Michael Marzzacco

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 18: Vladimir Tarasenko #91 of the St. Louis Blues and Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals talk during the third period of a preseason NHL game at Capital One Arena on September 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 18: Vladimir Tarasenko #91 of the St. Louis Blues and Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals talk during the third period of a preseason NHL game at Capital One Arena on September 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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The Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues played an entertaining NHL 20 game at Capital One Arena.

In a matchup of the last two Stanley Cup champions in our version of the NHL 20 simulation, the Washington Capitals survived a third period rally from the St. Louis Blues to win 4-3.

The Capitals erupted for two goals in the first period while the Blues got on the board later in the period. First it was a T.J. Oshie rebound off of Jordan Binnington’s blockers to put the Caps up 1-0 at 2:26 for his 21st goal of the season. Alex Ovechkin and Dmitry Orlov had the helpers.

The Caps would double their lead at 11:19 with a snap shot from Lars Eller assisted by Richard Panik and Radko Gudas. The Blue would answer 62 seconds later on a goal from Vince Dunn assisted by Alex Peitrangelo and former Capital Troy Brouwer.

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2-1 was the score after the first 20 minutes with the Caps leading in shots 10-7 and hits even at two apiece. There were no penalties in the first period.

It was a rather quiet second period as neither team scored. The Blues led in shots in the middle stanza 7-5 while hits were even at three apiece. Once again it’s been a clean game with no penalties thus far.

The third period provided plenty of fireworks. The Caps got an insurance goal that would later prove to be the difference by Ovechkin on a great drive to the net. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Orlov had the helpers. It was Ovechkin’s 40th goal of the season and in this simulation, he leads the league in goals.

The Blues answered with a goal from Colton Parayko to close the gap to 3-2. Later in the period Robert Bortuzzo was whistled for a tripping call to put the Caps on the power play with 2:15 left. The time was now to put the game away.

Unfortunately, the Caps lost that power play when Evgeny Kuznetsov was called for a tripping minor with 1:22 left, making it 4-on-4.

The Blues pulled Binnington for an extra attacker and with the Caps pressing the Blues best player Vladamir Tarasenko stole the puck and was all alone on the breakaway before Caps netminder Braden Holtby stopped him.

The Caps would later score on the empty net on a goal from Nicklas Backstrom for his 11th of the season. The Blues would get one back with 10 seconds left on a goal from Ivan Barbashev but it wasn’t enough as the Caps hung on for a 4-3 win.

Our pals at NBC Sports Washington did their own simulation of this game on Tuesday night and Backstrom had a hat trick in that game.

Related Story. Capitals stun Penguins in Pittsburgh in NHL 20 simulation. light

These virtual Caps are pretty good. Check back tomorrow to see how they fare against the New York Rangers.

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