Well, that was nuts. It wasn’t pretty, but as Al Davis once famously stated, “just win, baby.”
After giving up the game’s first goal, the Capitals stormed back with four unanswered goals in the first period for a 4-1 lead at the first intermission. That should be enough, right? Nope.
The Senators would battle back to tie the game 4-4 before Alex Ovechkin potted his first tally of the night. He would add another as the Capitals ultimately took home the 7-5 victory north of the border.
Somewhat lost in the melee was the fact that Capitals’ center Connor McMichael recorded his first two career NHL points in the game. His first career assist came on T.J. Oshie’s second goal of the game.
That angle tho 😅 pic.twitter.com/7QVmREoI03
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 25, 2021
As fate would have it, McMichael had 11 or so family members and friends in the stands.
Ajax, Ontario, McMichael’s hometown, is located just north of Toronto and 222 miles from the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. But seeing as this was the Capitals first visit to Canada in quite some time, the McMichael family jumped at the chance to make the trip.
McMichael family and friends – @Capitals
McMichael said he thought about his family during the game.
”It was cool. I had that in the back of my mind the whole game, they were a big part of my hockey career, took me to the rink early mornings and stuff like that. So it was cool to play in front of my family.”
McMichael was happy they were on hand for his first career NHL point as well.
”It’s cool that they could be here for it. It’s a lot of fun. I’m happy I could share the moment with them.”
McMichael said most of the credit goes to linemate T.J. Oshie, who recorded his fifth career hat trick against the Senators Monday night.
“Osh did a lot of the heavy lifting. Him and Mo (Anthony Mantha) are great players. Like I said before, playing with Osh is really easy, and having Mo out there made it even easier.”
Connor was asked if he ever gets a little starstruck playing with such big names in the Capitals lineup.
“For sure. Playing with Ovi and Backstrom and Carlson, and guys like that, it’s cool every day to practice with them as well, just being around them and the winning culture in the room, it’s really cool. And it’s a lot of fun.”
“It’s cool that they could be here for it… i’m happy I could share the moment with them”@con91mcmichael on his first NHL points with his family in the building #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/7QjGZevQIF
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 26, 2021
The Capitals now head home and will have the day off on Tuesday before they return to the ice Wednesday night when they host the Detroit Red Wings at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is set for just after 7:00 PM.
by Jon Sorensen
I am pleasantly surprised with McMichael’s game. It’s solid and compliments the line mates he’s had. I think he’s pretty much ready for the NHL and expect him to be a full time starter next year for sure.
I could see him spending most of this year with the Caps. He’s fully adapted already and working well with his line. When Backstrom returns he could move to 13F, because he can play anywhere in the lineup. On the flip side, he will also like make a trip or two to Hershey as he is waivers-exempt.