For the first 52 minutes of this encounter, nothing worked for the hometown Washington Capitals. Everything they threw at Coyotes rookie Karel Vejmelka was turned away, as the young netminder made spectacular stop after improbable save.
Considering Arizona didn’t even register a shot on goal during the first 17 minutes of the contest, the game would have been an absolute blowout if not for amazing efforts of Vejmalka. Sure, one team came into the contest without a regulation loss while the other had yet to earn a win, but the 25-year-old’s 30 saves proved he was up to the task.
In the end, the better team won as Washington picked up a 2-0 victory, but it wasn’t the prettiest of showings for the boys in red.
Alex Ovechkin finished the night with a goal and an assist, giving him 15 points for the season — tied with Connor McDavid for tops in the league. The 36-year-old Russian dynamo notched goal No. 739, bringing him within two of Brett Hull for fourth all time.
While Ovechkin continues to defy logic (and Father Time), this game marked the debut for 2019 second-round pick Brett Leason. In fact, because of injuries to Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and Nic Dowd, the Capitals are in the midst of a bit of a youth movement these days.
Leason joined three other rookies in the lineup — Connor McMichael, Hendrix Lapierre and Martin Fehervary — a welcome sight for one of the NHL’s most veteran rosters. Another aspect of the game that will bring joy to the fanbase was the strong showing by goalie Ilya Samsonov earning his fourth career shutout. Samsonov improved to now 3-0-1 this season, with a 2.43 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.
