Copley and Caps Blank Blues, 4-0

Winning doesn't matter much in the preseason, but the Caps head home happy, satisfied and just a little bit closer to one another in the wake of Tuesday's 4-0 victory over the Blues in St. Louis. Ex-Blues goalie Pheonix Copley likely nailed down a roster spot with a sparkling and spotless 42-save performance against an extremely representative Blues lineup, and he was supported offensively with at least a goal in each period.

More to the point, the Caps' execution and their collective compete level was easily the best it has been in any of their five exhibition outings. As the game wore on, the Blues became visibly frustrated and started running around and taking liberties, and the Caps handled that with aplomb as well.

"The team bonding that went on tonight on our bench and in our room," says Caps coach Todd Reirden, "you can't manufacture scenarios like that. That was outstanding. Our bench was the best it's been in the preseason in terms of support for one another, the blocked shots, fighting for each other, everybody in scrums. That's the team chemistry and the team bond that we showed last year and that got us over the hump, and I was really happy to see guys step up in that regard tonight."
For the first time in five games this fall, the Caps broke the seal on the scoresheet, taking their first scoreboard lead of the preseason in the process. From the Washington end of the ice, Nic Dowd went cross-ice to Riley Barber in the neutral zone, and Barber gained the St. Louis zone and tried to work his way around Blues defender Colton Parayko, who managed to disrupt but not strip him. Barber left the puck on the left dot for the trailing Shane Gersich, who quickly zipped a wrist shot to the far top corner of the cage for a 1-0 Caps lead at 10:16 of the first.

Copley's night was kind of quiet early, but he began to dazzle late in the first with stops on Brayden Schenn on a St. Louis power play and Jordan Kyrou on a two-on-none down low just over a minute later.
Midway through the second, the Caps doubled their lead on a dominant offensive-zone shift from the Travis Boyd line. Boyd played cat and mouse with the puck and the Blues along the left wing half wall, shifting and shimmying away and taking the puck high when he couldn't find a play down low. From up top, Michal Kempny put a drive on net, and Blues goalie Jake Allen made the stop. But an alert John Carlson jumped up into the play, collected the rebound and fed Nathan Walker for an easy tap-in from the top of the paint at 9:18 of the middle stanza.

The penalties began in earnest soon after. Liam O'Brien fought the Blues' Patrick Maroon, and just over a minute later, Copley and the Caps found themselves in a bit of a mess when Dowd and Madison Bowey were both sent off for simultaneous minors, giving the Blues a full two-minute, two-man advantage and a chance to tie the game.
Copley made five saves - including four from inside of 10 feet away - and Carlson came up with a critical shot block, enabling the Caps to navigate their way thorugh that patch of tall grass and maintain their lead through the remainder of the second.

With the two sides playing four-on-four to start the third, the Caps added to their lead, but it came at a cost. As he was making a play in the left wing corner of the St. Louis end, Kempny took a left forearm to the face/jaw area from Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo. Officials missed it altogether, and play continued. From the high slot, Alex Ovechkin put a shot toward the net and Bowey tipped it through Chad Johnson, who came on in relief of Allen, just 52 seconds into the third.
Kempny left and did not return, and no further information was available on his condition afterwards.

Copley continued to stymie St. Louis, and the Blues continued to show their frustration. After Bortuzzo was boxed for boarding Gersich at 4:48, he found Tom Wilson waiting for him upon exiting. Wilson made the Blues blueliner answer for his actions, and things settled down somewhat thereafter.
With time ticking down, Chandler Stephenson scored an empty-netter to account for the 4-0 final, and the Caps helped Copley finish off the whitewash. Nineteen of Copley's 42 stops came in the middle period.

"The guys were doing a good job clearing lanes," says Copley, "and like you saw in the third, there were a lot of good blocks. So those guys gave me a chance to see them."
With Braden Holtby slated to start and go the distance in the Caps' last two preseason games, Tuesday was Copley's last chance to make a statement, and he did exactly that.
"He was a huge difference maker tonight," says Reirden of Copley, "just outstanding in terms of stepping up his game, and nothing like going against a former team and pitching a shutout. I can't say enough about the game that he had, and I'm really, really happy for him. He is an extremely hard worker, and the players like him a lot. To me, that was a statement game for him, and I'm proud of him for that."
Reirden also sent some postgame praise to defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who logged 19:19 on the night while leading the team with four hits and blocking a couple of shots.

"Best game I've seen him play," says Reirden of Siegenthaler, "and that includes watching games in Hershey."
There were no passengers in this one. Ten of the Caps' 18 skaters recorded a point, and no one had a multiple-point night. Fifteen of the 18 skaters finished the night with a plus next to their name, and one of the guys who didn't - Dowd - had an assist, but went for a change before the red light came on.
"The start was definitely a point of focus tonight," says Reirden, "it was brought up before the game. I just liked our commitment to not force plays at the start of the game unless they were there. So we put pucks in behind them, and we got our forecheck going and it got everybody into the game. That's how we have to play if we want to be successful. It was much better."