Hello All,

Fresh off a dominating performance against the Philadelphia FLyers, the Capitals were crushed by the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 7-3 in Toronto. The Caps entered this game with impressive 4-game win streak over teams like TBL, PIT, BOS, and PHI. However, this hot-streak was no match for the Maple Leafs last night. You could tell from the drop of the puck, the Leafs came to play.

Here are the stats from the game:

Shots on Goal:
WSH – 25
TOR – 32

Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 16
TOR – 20

Corsi For %:
WSH – 42.73%
TOR – 57.27%

Corsi For % (5v5):
WSH – 41.1%
TOR – 58.9%

Power Play:
WSH – 0/4
TOR – 0/5

Hits:
WSH – 39
TOR – 43

Blocks:
WSH – 15
TOR – 13

Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 21
TOR – 37

Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 13
TOR – 22

High Danger Chances For:
WSH – 9
TOR – 16

High Danger Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 7
TOR – 10

My Takeaways:

Ilya Samsonov Gets Chased AGAIN - The last time the Capitals played the Maple Leafs was 02/28/22. Ilya Samsonov started that game but was pulled after allowing 3-goals on 10 shots. In that game, all three goals Samsonov allowed were considered high-danger chances by Toronto. He saved all other medium/low danger chances. Last night was a lot of the same but just sprinkle in a couple soft goals. Here are Samsonov's stats from last night

Saves: 15/19
High Danger Saves - 6/8
Medium Danger Saves - 4/6
Low Danger Saves - 5/5
Rebound Shots Against - 2

Samsonov was ultimately pulled after allowing his 4th goal at about the halfway point of the game. So yes, Samsonov was pulled twice against the Maple Leafs in the same season. Samsonov certainly let in some head-scractching goals. The goal he allowed from Lybushkin that was a mere 13-seconds after John Carlson cut the lead to 2-1 was an absolute killer. The play was soft, the goal was weak, and any momentum the Capitals had for 13-seconds was dead. Vitek Vanecek did not look any better so my panic meter for our goaltending right now is about a 9/10.

Penalty Kill Stays Hot - The Capitals PK continues to be a bright spot. The Maple Leafs have the #1 ranked power play in the league and the Capitals were able to go 5/5 on the PK. In power plays against, the Capitals only allowed three scoring chances against and according to naturalstattrick.com zero shots against? That cant be correct but that is what it says. Since March 1st, the Capitals have the 4th ranked PK at 85.7%. This game marks the third straight game that the Leafs power play has gone 0/5. The Leafs PP is objectively cold right now, even if that is a small sample size. Don't worry Leafs fans, it was not too long ago you went 3/7 against the Florida Panthers and 1/3 against the Dallas Stars. Considering your weapons, I think you will be fine.

Tom Wilson Loves Toronto - The Toronto native had an all-around fantastic game. He scored a goal, won a fight, and was one assist away from a Gordie Howe Hat Trick. Wilson has set personal bests in goals, assists, points, and power play points for the season. The fight vs Kyle Clifford was a great scrape. The pair have danced three times in their careers which is tied for the most Wilson has fought against a single player in the NHL. Just a classic heavy weight bout. Here is the fight and also a link to the hockeyfights.com

The Fight:


https://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/n265235

2016 Fight Between Wilson and Clifford:


2014 Fight Between Wilson and Clifford:



Clifford LOVES holding that left arm/sleeve. That's his only move.

On a seperate note, Tom Wilson did inadvertently run into Leafs goalie Jack Campbell in the 1st period. He received a minor penalty for it. Campbell put himself at risk by sticking his head out at that angle knowing full well two players are coming in full-speed. I have seen narratives on twitter that Wilson had intent to injure there and well that take is just completely insane. Tom Wilson could make objectively the cleanest hit in the world and people would still be out with pitchforks screaming for a suspension. I will say, some people are starting and put their bias aside. The most common tweet I will see about Tom Wilson this season is "Man, I hate Tom Wilson but I see nothing wrong with this hit."

Here is the Jack Campbell run-in:



Thoughts?

Honorable Mention: The Caps Shutout Auston Matthews. I am pulling for Matthews to get to 60-goals but I selfishly do not want him to beat Ovechkin's single season high of 65-goals. Its going to come down to the wire. I think Matthews finishes the regular season at 63-goals. I love watching Matthews play and I am projecting him to hit at least the 700-goal club by the time he retires.

Next up, the Capitals play @ Montreal on Saturday at 7pm. This should be a bounce back game if the Caps take care of their business. Thanks for reading and GO CAPS!

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Stats/Facts/Video Clips Provided By:

nhl.com/stats
hockey-reference.com
naturalstattrick.com
hockeyfights.com
@CapitalsPR Twitter page
@Capitals Twitter page
@HerseyBears Twitter page
>>>Follow me on Twitter @HB_Capitals<<<

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