After laying a bit of an egg on opening night, the Caps have had a pretty decent start to the year so far – but tonight was easily the best game we’ve seen out of them in this young season, and perhaps well beyond that. They controlled play from start to finish, and were it not for Filip Gustavsson, the score would have been far more lopsided. Pretty great way to break in their new third jerseys for sure, and another solid win for the hometown crowd.
Plus: The Capitals’ play at five-on-five was absolutely dominant tonight, peppering Gustavsson with shot after shot while drastically limiting Minnesota’s firepower (although the Wild did score their first even-strength goal – courtesy of former Cap Marcus Johansson – since opening night).