On Tuesday night The Washington Capitals hosted the Utah Mammoth for the first time since they got named the Utah Mammoth. It’s another one of those games they’ll wish they’d have won come April.
To make it 1-0 Utah, Dylan Guenther fired a mighty shot after the Caps ceded the blue line. Mikhail Sergachev doubled the score with a power-play goal softly sent through a screen. Pierre-Luc Dubois converted in the final second of a power play, and it was 2-1 after one period.
The only goal of the second period was Utah’s: JJ Peterka beating Logan Thompson on the power play. Ryan Leonard snapped a drought to bring the Caps within one goal on a third-period power play. But that was all the comeback they had.
Support us on Patreon for $5 to hide all ads and get other perks
- So I was sizing up these teams before the game. Both are bad at special teams but good at even strength. Except one team, the visitors, dominated five-on-five play on Tuesday. Through two periods, Utah had two attempts for every one taken by Washington.
- So yeah, the Caps got smoked until the third period. Least smoked was the least played. You guessed it: Hendrix Lapierre. 8:47 total.
- Pierre-Luc Dubois has been back for five games. He’s got four goals. Whatever it was he had, he’s still got it.
- Ryan Leonard broke a 14-game goal-less slump with a power-play goal in the third period.
- Even more relieved than Leonard on that goal? PP coach Kirk Muller.
- On his next shift, Leonard took a big shot to the leg. Didn’t miss a shift except for the bits of the shift he missed. So I guess he did miss a shift, but it was part of the same shift, which doesn’t count.
- Dylan McIlrath played in this hockey game.
- Aliaksei Protas missed the game because he’s on baby watch. You know what that means. Six feet and six inches curling up into this.
mandatory victory tonight #joebsuitofthenight — RMNB (@rmnb.bsky.social) 2026-03-03T23:59:09.683Z
The Caps’ playoff chances drop to 33 percent, according to HockeyViz, which I think is the most optimistic model and therefore the one I’m using. And this not-very-impressive game is the very last impression the roster has given GM Chris Patrick before the NHL trade deadline on Friday. I still think they should load up for Ovi’s last ride and be legends. I promise not to complain if it makes the team bad for three seasons.
See you Saturday when a new and improved (please?) Caps roster, certainly featuring Jason Robertson (right?), plays a matinee in Boston.
