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The surprising Washington Capitals look to continue their winning ways when they return from the Thanksgiving break and play host to the struggling Edmonton Oilers on Friday afternoon.
Since starting the season with only one victory in their first five outings, the Capitals have posted a 9-1-1 run and are riding a five-game winning streak thanks to Wednesday’s thrilling 4-3 overtime comeback victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
After Tom Wilson’s late third-period goal forced overtime with the goalie pulled for the extra attacker, Dylan Strome played the hero.
“I was kind of thinking pass the whole way, and then the (defenseman) backed up a little bit, and I figured I’d just get a shot off,” said Strome, who netted his first career overtime winner. “It’s a big win, a character win. I feel like we were battling all game.”
The Capitals were battling all game because they had to twice erase deficits. Buffalo took a 2-0 lead in the first period and, after the Capitals drew even, the Sabres pulled away again with a late second-period goal.
As Washington prepares to end a four-game homestand, a focus will be a better start. The Capitals trailed by a 2-0 score in each of their first five games of the season, and know that trend can not again become a habit.
That said, a comeback victory does wonders for the team’s confidence.
“We’re just showing the character of the group,” coach Spencer Carbery said after noting his team was poor coming out of the blocks. “They’re not going to just ride off into the sunset and say, ‘It just wasn’t our night. Buffalo came in and took two points from us.’
“They’re going to dig and put everything they’ve got into finding a way to turn the momentum, and that’s what they did.”
The Oilers arrive in the U.S. capital on the heels of a third consecutive loss, Wednesday’s 6-3 defeat against the Carolina Hurricanes. Unlike the previous two outings in which they surrendered a 2-0 edge, the Oilers trailed 4-0 in the first period.
“We were just slow with the puck, slow with our feet,” forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “If you play long enough against these guys, you know that they start fast and put the puck behind you and make you work, especially early in the game. We talked about it, and obviously it wasn’t good enough to start.”
Edmonton won the first two games after a coaching change resulted in Kris Knoblauch being handed the reins, but has followed that positive bump by dropping every outing on the current road trip that ends in Washington.
Goaltending and team defense has been a huge problem all season, and has played a big part in the losing skid. The Oilers have surrendered 17 goals in three games, capped by the Carolina loss in which captain Connor McDavid was minus-3 and Leon Draisaitl was minus-4.
“I see a lot of guys who are working hard and who care,” Knoblauch said. “They’re so worried about making mistakes. Ultimately, it’s paralyzing us and holding us back. (We’re) just not playing with our instincts.”
– Field Level Media
