Washington Capitals: Top 3 best moments of 2021 season
The Washington Capitals had another first round exit but there were some great moments throughout the weird 2021 season. Let’s take a look at the best of the best.
These moments made Capitals fans come together as it was a tough season with most of us being away from our boys and rocking the red from home.
Some of us were lucky enough to see the team in person either when Capital One Arena reopened or when fans traveled on the road.
#3 Fans Opening Night
In front of 2,133 fans, the Capitals welcomed their fans back with a show in a 1-0 win over the New York Islanders on April 27. It was an emotional night as they not only welcomed back fans but also frontline workers and first responders who were heroes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daniel Sprong scored the game’s first and only goal 89 seconds into the contest. Zdeno Chara and Matt Martin also dropped the gloves for a fight to the delight of the fans in the stands.
Overall, it was a night to remember and a night to realize how far we’ve come and how far we have to go. Opening Night this October (fingers crossed) will be at a full Capital One Arena and the scene will be glorious.
#2 A home win over the Penguins
Feb. 25 was the only home win for the Caps over the Pittsburgh Penguins but it was a good one. The team wore special warmup jerseys for Black History Night. It was two days after they debuted their screaming eagle reverse retro jerseys which unfortunately resulted in an overtime loss.
That Thursday night the Caps got revenge in a big way. The Caps took a 1-0 lead with Nicklas Backstrom feeding Nick Jensen, cutting to the net while Jensen fed it right back to Backstrom for the score at 11:20.
In the third period the Caps doubled their lead with T.J. Oshie making perhaps the goal highlight of the year. Stay tuned. Oshie went down the ice, deked around a defenseman, went head first with one hand and scored at 3:18.
The Penguins answered with two goals first from Brandon Tanev shorthanded and then Jake Guentzel for the tie. The Caps answered at 12:40 with a power play goal from Tom Wilson with a slam dunk in front of the net.
Carl Hagelin and Lars Eller put the game away with empty net goals. This was the most impressive Caps home win without fans. With those two moments down there’s one more moment left.
#1 Fight Night at MSG and an emotional hat trick
It was an emotional 4-2 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in more ways than one. It started with Tom Wilson leveling Artemi Panarin two nights prior. His punishment? A slap on the wrist $5,000 fine. The Rangers and their fans were furious and the team even put out a statement calling out the NHL and Wilson’s “horrifying act of violence”.
With emotions running high, the forwards, all six of them, dropped the gloves when the puck was dropped. There were six fights in the first five minutes and Wilson even left the game after the first period.
T.J. Oshie scored two goals on the power play in the second period. The first was 12 seconds in as Oshie glided down the ice for the snipe. Oshie’s second came on a rebound in front of the net. The second one came at 8:26. Nic Dowd made it 3-0 with a redirection in front of the net at 14:48.
Oshie completed the hat trick in the third period with an empty net goal. After the game, the team celebrated by singing Oshie’s goal song “Country Roads” by John Denver in the locker room.
More. Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin is Offensive MVP of 2021. light
What was your favorite moment from the 2021 season? Let us know in the comments!