Capitals Mute Blues, 4-0; Pheonix Copley Dazzles Against Former Team

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Harrison Brown
bluPhoto: @StLouisBlues

The Washington Capitals beat the St. Louis Blues by a final score of 4-0 at Enterprise Center on Tuesday night for their first win of the preseason. The best player of the game for the Capitals was goaltender Pheonix Copley, who made 42 saves, including a few for the highlight reel to record a shutout. 

Capitals’ Lineup at Blues

Copley played the entire game for the Capitals against his former team. Washington sent Copley to St. Louis on July 2 as part of a deal to land forward T.J. Oshie. The Capitals re-acquired him from the Blues in the Kevin Shattenkirk trade at the trade deadline two years’ ago. Defenseman John Carlson made his preseason debut.

First Period

Shane Gersich ripped one high glove on Jake Allen from the left circle after Riley Barber stripped the puck away from Blues’ defenseman Colton Parayko. The shot went under the bar and the Capitals took their first lead of the preseason with 9:44 left in the first.

Copley made a sparkling split save on Jordan Kyrou on a two-on-one to preserve the Capitals’ lead late in the first. #CallTheCOPS

The Capitals led 5-3 in blocked shots and 7-6 in hits after one.

The Blues led 10-9 in shots and only had one giveaway while the Caps had two. St. Louis won 67% of the faceoffs.

Both teams went 0-for-1 on the power play and had one takeaway.

Second Period

Nathan Walker tipped in Carlson’s shot in the goal crease to double the Capitals’ lead at 9:18. Carlson kicked the puck from skate to stick and fed it to Walker, who had nothing but net to shoot at.

Copley kicked out his pad not once but twice for another spectacular save on center Ryan O’Reilly on a breakaway.

Late in the period, Blues’ forward Patrick Maroon and Capitals’ forward Liam O’Brien dropped the gloves in front of the Washington bench.

The Capitals led 7-4 in blocked shots after two.

The Blues led 28-21 in shots (including 19-12 in the middle frame), 4-1 in takeaways, and 14-12 in hits after two periods of play. St. Louis only had one giveaway while the Caps had two. The Blues won 70% of the faceoffs through two.

Each team went 0-for-2 on the power play through the first couple of periods.

Third Period

Goaltender Chad Johnson replaced Allen at the start of the third period for the Blues.

Madison Bowey scored 53 seconds into the period as he tipped in Alex Ovechkin’s pass in front of Allen to extend the Capitals’ lead to 3-0. Defenseman Michal Kempny was hit into the boards by Blues’ defenseman Robert Bortuzzo on the play. Kempny was hit in the jaw but got up not long after. He would not return to the game with an upper-body injury.

Tom Wilson dropped the gloves with Bortuzzo and put him down after Bortuzzo’s hit on Kempny.

Chandler Stephenson powered to the net and fought off Blues’ forward Brayden Schenn on his way for an empty-net goal to make it 4-0 at 18:35.

The Capitals led 10-8 in blocked shots and 16-13 in third-period shots.

The Blues led 42-37 in shots, 7-3 in takeaways, and 21-15 in hits. The Blues won 63% of the faceoffs.

Neither team was able to capitalize on the power play. The Capitals had four opportunities with a man up while the Blues had three. Each team had two giveaways.

The Capitals close out the preseason with a mini two-game homestand, starting on Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Action from Capital One Arena can be seen on NBC Sports Washington starting at 7 PM.

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077
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