Recap

We the People…reminisce in Detroit

Everyday, the silent majority get louder and louder, thanks in no small part to the innovative invention of Twitter.  So when Verizon shakes and TVs are thrown, everyone’s reactions explode into 140 characters (or less) of awkward brilliance.  While you may love your 15 followers, we here at Capitals Outsider want to make sure they aren’t the only ones to hear your in-game gems.  Make it snazzy folks. #wethepeople #caps

Things were simpler the last time the Caps won in Detroit.  The country was eight months into the Iraq War, the Chappelle Show had just finished its first season, and Paris Hilton’s sex tape was brand spanking new.  Rastislav Stana was in net for Washington and on his way to a career year, his only year.

Given the gap, one might expect the Caps to struggle against the Red Wings.  One might also expect a 4-1 lead to be clutch.  But we all think silly things.

Silly, and then angry thoughts were probably going through Kyle Quincey and Justin Abdelkader‘s mind when they allowed Alex Ovechkin‘s first power play goal.  But Ovie being Ovie, he’s got to be the best at everything, including being crazy.

And then there’s the insanity of Mike Knuble.  After being scratched to the point of palpable tension, he has three goals and one assist in his last four games.  The man is a legend in Washington and throughout the league, and thus deserves a movie, or at least movie references.

The trend of players playing like who we thought they were continued as Ovechkin scored another power play goal in the same period, giving the Caps a 3-0 lead over a once unstoppable Detroit team.  It was the first time since 2010 that he had scored two power play goals in one game.

While a shutout for Braden Holtby would’ve been nice considering what the team is doing to their goalies, when Quincey scored five minutes into the second period, it wasn’t a big deal.  Especially when Keith Aucoin, another Hershey highlight, capped off a sweet sequence by Marcus Johansson and Alex Semin.

Hey, remember when Beagle was a hot dog?  How about some Aucoin puns?

Just as the Caps lured everyone back into 2008, the third period brought us quickly back to the present with a defensive breakdown that allowed a goal less than a minute into the period, and another with more than seven minutes left.

Knuble didn’t do anyone any favors when he took a penalty against his former team, but thankfully the lively whistles also caught Henrik Zetterberg, leaving the Caps only a four-on-four battle until the final seconds ticked off on the power play.

That was when Jason Chimera, who comically seethed about an uncalled hi-stick in Chicago before the game, brought it all together with an empty netter.

While Ovechkin’s goals inspire lust, Chimera’s inspire healing and love.  And odd math-English combos.

Taylor Lewis

Taylor is a journalism student at the University of Maryland, College Park. Though she's covered everything from art to politics, her passion is hockey. Through her work with Capitals Outsider, Taylor has been in the locker rooms of the Washington Capitals and Reading Royals. The Maryland native also contributes to College Hockey News and started an arts and literature publication, The Writers' Bloc, on the College Park campus. A top-five finalist for The Goalie Guild's inaugural Redfield Internship Program, Taylor also enjoys writing creatively. Some of her poems have been published online and in addition to a book about hockey, she is in the process of writing a novel.

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