Recap: Caps 3, Devils 1

It felt good to see a Caps game in-person again.


Some observations:

• If you're re-watching this game, if you want to be happy, feel free to skip the first period. The Devils did everything the Capitals could not: break the cycle, make crisp breakouts, enter the zone cleanly, cycle, and get shots through from the point. Oh, and win faceoffs.
• At least the inconsistent Caps make their opponents look inconsistent, too.
• I was really hating on Jason Chimera to my cousin after he couldn't get the puck up on his chance at the end of the first. Now I guess we see why he gets PK TOI from time to time. Nice wheels, there, but I have to think an older defenseman (not Adam Larsson) and a cleaner line change and the Devils don't surrender that chance.
• Mike Green ends up on the ice an awful lot.
• Why was Cody Eakin benched? I thought that among the forwards, he and Joel Ward were the only ones able to execute the "little things" properly in the first half of the game.
• Ward and Nicklas Backstrom were the only Caps to not end in the red in Corsi.
• I think the reason Johansson-Ovechkin doesn't work all that well is because Johansson is not that good of a possession player in any zone, and Ovechkin is only good in the offensive zone. I liked the look of Ovechkin-Backstrom-Ward, though: two guys good in the offensive zone, two guys good in the defensive zone, and two good in the neutral zone.
• I still get frustrated by how other teams can play Ovechkin-Backstrom power-versus-power (in some form) and defeat them easily. Tonight, Elias' line and Parise's line were really taking it to Ovechkin at times. Many times.
• I feel safe in saying three teams will regret not having taken Adam Larsson. The Devils' defense corps is underrated, and on that blueline (that features Olympic-caliber players like Swede Henrik Tallinder, American Andy Greene, and Russian Anton Volchenkov), Larsson is the ice time leader with nearly 20 minutes per game at evens, and 3:42 on the power play. He hardly PKs, but still...wow.
• I only noticed Adam Henrique once. I guess that's some nice shutdown defense...(to be fair, Parise and Elias had a tough time as well, thanks to Carlzner).
• Troy Brouwer is bringing all the physicality that Ovechkin used to bring but now does not. I like Brouwer's game.

Hopefully, a better effort Saturday night at Verizon Center. For the next six weeks, I guess, my Caps jersey is going back into the closet (until Caps@Devils on 12/23).