Capitals go up 2-0 in our NHL 20 playoff simulation
The Washington Capitals cruised to a 4-1 win in today’s NHL 20 simulation.
Following a Game 1 victory in NHL 20 behind an Alex Ovechkin hat trick, the Washington Capitals picked up where they left off in Game 2 with a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres despite getting outshot. You can thank Braden Holtby for this effort.
The Capitals struck first on a goal from Carl Hagelin right in front of the net for his first of the playoffs at 13:46 off a quick feed from Richard Panik.
With about 2:14 left, John Carlson was called for hooking putting the Sabres on the power play attack. The Caps were able to kill off the penalty to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Buffalo outshot Washington 14-9.
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The Caps doubled their lead with Nicklas Backstrom rebounding in his own backhanded shot at 7:35. Tom Wilson and Nick Jensen had the helpers. It was Backstrom’s third goal of the playoffs.
Holtby stood tall stopping everything in his sight through two periods weathering the storm of 22 shots through those two periods with none getting in.
In the third, T.J. Oshie was called for a tripping minor at 4:40 putting the Sabres on the power play. Evan Rodrigues got the Sabres on the board with a power play goal at 7:24 assisted by Marcus Johansson and Rasmus Dahlin.
At 11:43 Oshie would redeem himself by rebounding in a shot from Ovechkin to make it 3-1. Dmitry Orlov was credited with the secondary assist.
The Sabres pulled their goalie for an extra attacker but that was shortlived when Jack Eichel was called for a holding minor with 29 seconds left. The Caps weren’t done putting the beating on and Jakub Vrana scored to put the game away for good. Lars Eller and Panik had the assists.
Holtby stopped 37 of the 38 shots he faced for a .974 save percentage. The Caps were outshot 38-26 and with the amount of shots faced, Holtby was easily player of the game and he rightfully earned it as the game’s first star.
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Can the Caps go up 3-0 in the first round on the Sabres? Check back tomorrow to find out.