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Capitals hang on to defeat Wild in our NHL 20 simulation

By Michael Marzzacco|
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 14: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his goal against the Minnesota Wild with teammate T.J. Oshie #77 during the second period at Verizon Center on March 14, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 14: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his goal against the Minnesota Wild with teammate T.J. Oshie #77 during the second period at Verizon Center on March 14, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The Washington Capitals got a huge win over the Minnesota Wild in our NHL 20 simulation.

It was a 4-3 win that they had to scrap and hang onto thanks to the penalty kill at the end of the game. The Washington Capitals, that is the NHL 20 version, knows how to grind it out.

The first period was quiet as neither team scored. The Capitals outshot the Wild 9-4 and out hit them 7-4. Face-offs won were even at three and the Caps killed off a penalty after Dmitry Orlov was called for tripping.

The offense came to life in the second period. T.J. Oshie shot a top-shelf right corner beauty that pinged in for his 23rd goal of the season at 3:28. John Carlson had the assist.

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The Caps were penalized once again when Nicklas Backstrom was called for a tripping minor at 5:20. The Wild would take advantage on the power play this time as Mats Zuccarello tied things up at 6:17.

Oshie would strike once again on a rebound from a shot by Michal Kempny to retake the lead at 7:33. Nick Jensen had the secondary assist.

Evgeny Kuznetsov then rebounded in a shot from Alex Ovechkin to make it 3-1 at 9:38. Jensen had his second assist of the night.

Carlson struck on a shot from downtown at 18:20 to make it 4-1. Carl Hagelin and Richard Panik had the helpers.

The Caps crushed it in the shot department through two periods 24-10 to take a 4-1 lead into the virtual dressing room at the second intermission.

The bad news though is Carlson would play the puck in his own net with the goal credited to Eric Staal. Yes even when he’s not on the Carolina Hurricanes that dude still finds a way. Matthew Dumba closed the gap to 4-3 at 5:05.

The Caps took two penalties in a row with Tom Wilson getting called for holding at 747 and Brendan Leipsic for hooking at 10:12. The Caps were able to kill off both penalties and hang on for the 4-3 win.

Shots ended up at 32-25 in favor of the Caps. They were out hit 12-10. Face-offs were even at 15 apiece. Braden Holtby got the win making 22 saves on 25 shots for a .880 save percentage.

The 4-3 win was an identical score to NBC Sports Washington’s simulated game. In that contest, Evgeny Kuznetsov scored two goals including the game-winner in overtime.

There’s just one more game left to simulate and that’s the season finale against the Florida Panthers. Check back on that one on Sunday morning.

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