Top 3 Capitals studs against Flames
The Washington Capitals got a big win over the Calgary Flames by a final of 3-2 in the shootout for their first win of the season and the first of the Spencer Carbery era.
Lots of players pitched in for this win but here was the three that stood out to me the most.
#3 Darcy Kuemper
Darcy Kuemper finally made his season debut. It was delayed by a game for good reason as he and his wife welcomed their first baby into the world the night before opening night. Kuemper made 38 saves in the win.
During the course of the game he faced a lot of pressure. None more so than the opening 20 minutes. The Caps were outshot 18-3 and Kuemper let two get by him. But from the second period on, he stopped everything in his sight including in the shootout round.
After his final save he did a “rock the baby” celebration in honor of his newborn son. He said about the celly, “It just kind of came to me. I hadn’t thought about it going into it, but it just kind of happened, so it was funny.”
goodnight to everyone, but especially baby kuemps pic.twitter.com/D8D3SRfUMv
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 17, 2023
Charlie Lindgren left morning skate early with an injury. At today’s practice the Caps said he’s day to day with an upper body injury.
#2 Connor McMichael
Connor McMichael got a huge goal in the second period at 9:54. The assists came from Matthew Phillips and John Carlson. It came on a shot right up the middle, a wrist shot that tied the game.
Thanks to that goal the Caps would come away with a point and they got the two points by winning it in the shootout thanks to two stops from Darcy Kuemper and one on the Flames side that hit the post. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in the skills challenge for the Caps.
Spencer Carbery, the new Caps bench boss that got his first NHL win, spoke highly of McMichael:
“Very similar to his chance the other night that went off the post. Attacking through the middle of the rink. I’ve said it a ton: he’s looked fantastic over the past month through training camp, and he’s carried that over into the first few games.”
McMichael has been huge since training camp started. His successful preseason has translated into the regular season as he’s finally getting the ice time that he deserves.
Mikey with the finish for Philly's first career apple pic.twitter.com/4mqdl5j7nL
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 17, 2023
It’s always good to see a prospect graduate to NHL status and we now can say that about the 2019 first rounder.
#1 Matthew Phillips
We all knew who would get number one and nobody better to deserve this than Matthew Phillips. I had a hunch he would score his first NHL goal against his former team and organization that drafted him.
He only had three NHL games in Calgary under his belt. It took him five games to get his first goal. What makes this kid special is that he even sounded humble in his postgame presser when asked how it felt to get his first goal against his former team.
“It feels pretty good,” Phillips said with a smile. “I’ll leave it at that.”
A lot of people wanted the Caps to get younger and faster with the home run free agent signing or trade for a top six. They didn’t quite get that trade for a top six but the home run came in the form of signing Phillips. None of us knew it at the time.
It is indeed Sonny for Philly pic.twitter.com/jBe3jDy6GU
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 17, 2023
He had to prove himself during training camp and the preseason. The 25 year old did exactly that. He has a chance to be a big X factor this upcoming season.
light. More. Grading Capitals offense against Flames
Those are our top 3 studs from the win last night against the Flames. The Caps will hit the road and return to action tomorrow night in Ottawa.