The Capitals bounced back from Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars with a shutout of their own, against the Nashville Predators, taking a win 3-0. 

Darcy Kuemper made 34 saves last night for his first shutout with the Capitals. It was Kuemper’s 26th shutout of his career, as he had five shutouts last season with the Colorado Avalanche.

Things didn’t look good for either of the teams at the start of the game, where they had both failed on their first-period power play. But the Caps held their own by creating 17 scoring chances. It took a lot of effort from Predators goaltender Juuse Saros to keep them off the board. Things took a turn for the Caps when right wing T.J. Oshie and defenseman John Carlson both left during the first period with lower-body injuries. The first period ended 0-0. 

Things started to look better for the Caps during the second period, though, when they finally got themselves on the scoreboard. Beck Malenstyn poked the puck to Nic Dowd, who drove it toward the Predators’ net. There was a quick pass from Dowd back to Malenstyn, creating his first goal of the season. 

The second goal was made almost 7 minutes into the third period by Aliaksei Protas and was assisted by Conor Sheary and Nick Jensen. With 2:45 left on the clock, Alex Ovechkin put the game out of reach with an empty net goal, his fourth this season, and the Caps prevailed.

Sources:

ESPN Internet Ventures. (n.d.). Capitals vs. Predators - NHL game recap - October 29, 2022. ESPN. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.espn.com/nhl/recap/_/gameId/401458723

ESPN Internet Ventures. (n.d.). Capitals vs. Predators - NHL play-by-play - october 29, 2022. ESPN. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.espn.com/nhl/playbyplay/_/gameId/401458723