Top 3 Capitals duds against Stars
The Washington Capitals are in the middle of a tough four game road stretch. They passed the first test but failed the second test last night against the Dallas Stars in shutout fashion. The final was 2-0.
The Caps looked for an equalizer in the third period down 1-0 but couldn’t get it. This loss drops the Capitals record to 4-4-0 and their first shutout loss since losing to the Vegas Golden Knights on home ice in January.
Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger was lights out with 27 saves. It was his first shutout of the season and the third of his career.
So who were the culprits from this loss besides this being a team effort? Glad you asked.
#3 Darcy Kuemper
One of my points about Darcy Kuemper was that I loved the signing in the offseason when it happened. It looked as if the Caps would finally get that steady goaltender since the Braden Holtby days. But he has yet to impress me so far this season.
After a few good saves from being tested early he let one in and couldn’t recover. The second goal wasn’t on him but we’ll talk about that later. The loss put Kuemper’s goals against average at 2.89 and his save percentage at .903.
#2 Dmitry Orlov
Dmitry Orlov has been a reliable defenseman since he got drafted but last night he made a bad play that luckily didn’t get enough attention from the NHL Department of Player Safety.
Here’s the play I’m talking about:
Orlov elbows Marchment in the face, no penalty called. pic.twitter.com/f9Bts9jYa9
— Main Team (@MainTeamSports2) October 28, 2022
Orlov high elbowed Mason Marchment of the Stars in the second period. Marchment went down but continued to stay in the game. No penalty was called and thankfully no future discipline.
That’s probably because this hit was accidental and perhaps Marchment’s head was not the main point of contact. Last season Orlov was suspended for two games for kneeing Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers. Like this one, there wasn’t a penalty called.
The Caps have already heard from the Department of Player Safety once and once is enough. That came from Evgeny Kuznetsov when he had a high sticking no call in the win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Kuznetsov sat out in the Capitals road game against the Ottawa Senators and they could’ve used Kuzy as they gave up five unanswered goals after having a 2-0 lead.
Kuznetsov swung the stick pretty much like a baseball bat. The fact that he was only suspended for just one game is a miracle in and of itself.
#1 John Carlson
Who else but John Carlson to turn over the puck and cost the Capitals another game. It was a head scratcher last season and it looks like it’s continuing onto this season.
While the Capitals were on the power play it was a sloppy turnover in their own zone that sealed the game and the eventual win for the Stars.
Joel Kiviranta stripped Carlson from behind then beat Darcy Kuemper with a backhanded goal. The win for the Stars improved their record to 5-2-1.
The Caps could not recover from that turnover. It truly came back to bite them in the end. It also couldn’t help as Oettinger was dominant the entire night.
Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said after the game:
It was tight. Chances were low both ways. Just wasn’t a lot of opportunity out there. We had a couple shifts in the second period where we were caught playing too much defense, and it kept us in our end and hemmed us in a little.”
The Stars offense kept pressure on Kuemper the entire night which made Carlson’s late turnover all the more costly.
Related Story. Capitals get blanked by Stars. light
The Caps will look for a much better performance tomorrow night in Nashville against the Predators.