Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 23 shots sent his way and Winnipeg scored midway through each of the game’s three periods to hand the Caps their sixth shutout setback of the season on Monday night at Canada Life Centre, 3-0.
Hellebuyck’s whitewash was his fourth of the season, and it resulted in his 30th victory of the campaign, the fifth time in the last seven seasons he has reached that plateau.
Monday’s loss spoiled the opener of a crucial five-game trip for Washington, nipping the Caps’ nascent win streak in the bud at two games.
“They had the puck for 75 percent of the game, so that makes it difficult to create anything offensively,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “And then when we did [get into Winnipeg ice], just not nearly a good enough job of getting to the interior, and zero traffic on Hellebuyck, so anything that we did generate scoring chance wise, he saw it clean. Obviously, everybody knows if he sees the shot, he’s going to stop it, so that is not a recipe for success against this team.”
From the outset, Washington’s execution wasn’t sharp. The Caps won only 36 percent of the game’s draws, and they were guilty of icing the puck far too many times, a combination that left them defending far more than they would have liked.
On the occasions that they did manage to get into Winnipeg ice, they weren’t able to settle in and wear down the Jets in their end, and certainly not to the extent that the home team was taxing Washington in its own end.
The Caps struggles to exit their end cleanly resulted in the game’s first goal at 10:05 of the first. Washington’s breakout attempt was thwarted at the left point by ex-Caps’ blueliner Brenden Dillon, and soon a scrum for the puck ensued along the left half wall, with most skaters from both sides participating. Winnipeg’s Mason Appleton came away with it, spotted Jets’ defenseman Neal Pionk all alone on the weak side, and Pionk had enough time and space to creep down to the middle of the right circle, where he launched a shot that beat Caps’ goalie Charlie Lindgren, giving Hellebuyck all the offensive support he would require.
In a period in which Washington was out-attempted 33-13, Lindgren kept the Caps within a goal, but the Caps were never able to generate enough threatening looks at the Winnipeg net.
“I think we were just a little slow supporting each other, and not communicating as much,” says Caps’ right wing T.J. Oshie, who returned to the Caps’ lineup after a seven-game absence. “And when you play a team like Winnipeg – they pinch on everything – they’re ultra-aggressive on the forecheck and they’re aggressive in-zone, when you don’t have that communication and that close support, it’s tough to make plays, and they outnumber you. And then they’ve got pretty good team speed, and once you do turn the puck over, they’re coming back to our end pretty quick.
“We knew we needed to make an adjustment after the first; I thought we did a better job to start the second. And then, it just got away from us.”
Alex Iafallo tipped home a Josh Morrissey center point shot at 8:16 of the second to double the Winnipeg lead. Again, Lindgren kept the deficit right there, giving the Caps a chance to climb back in it if they could manage to get the next goal.
When Mike Sgarbossa drew a slashing call on newly acquired Jets’ blueliner Colin Miller in the front half of the third, the Caps had the game’s first power play opportunity. Although Dylan Strome was able to win a trio of draws on the man advantage to give the Caps a good bit of offensive zone time, they only managed a couple of long distance drives that Hellebuyck saw and stopped easily.
At the exact midpoint of the third, Kyle Connor neatly finished a Mark Scheifele feed on a 2-on-1 rush to account for the 3-0 final.
For the Jets, Monday’s game was an impressive bounce back from a 5-0 loss in Vancouver on Saturday night. Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness called that game "the worst game we have played in my two years here, by far."
“Give the guys credit,” says Bowness after Monday's victory. “They weren’t very happy with our game in Vancouver, so knew they had to bounce back. And they did. It was a solid team effort tonight; that’s what it takes.
“I think we knew they were going to come out hot after what their coach was saying after their game a couple of days ago,” says Strome. “I thought we weathered the storm okay in the first, to only go down 1-0. And then, we just didn’t have enough pushback in the second and third. I felt like they had guys at the net all night, and we couldn’t really get to the net.
“We’ll get back to work [Tuesday] at practice, and we’ll be better against Edmonton on Wednesday. Obviously, it’s an important road trip, but one game at a time. One loss isn’t going to kill us, but you can’t let them stack up in a row.”
