Hutson Strikes Twice as Capitals Slip Past Saros in Nashville
Washington won 4-3 in Nashville on a night when neither team really had the better of the play. The difference came down to what happened in front of the two nets.
The chances were close to a dead heat. By expected goals, a measure of how many goals each side's chances were worth, Nashville came out slightly ahead, 2.83 to 2.70. The shot attempts were nearly level too, 57-53 for Washington, and the shots on goal were 29-28 in Washington's favour.
The nights in goal were not level. Juuse Saros stopped 25 of 29 and gave up four goals on chances worth fewer than three. That works out to 1.30 goals saved below expected. At the other end, Charlie Lindgren made 25 saves on 28 shots and faced 10 high-danger looks, stopping eight of them. His three goals against were about what Nashville's chances deserved.
The surprise scorer was defenceman Cole Hutson, who scored two goals on two shots. His partner Jack St. Ivany set up two goals, and Aliaksei Protas added two assists. Boone Jenner scored the other Washington goal.
For Nashville, Roman Josi had three assists and six shots in nearly 23 minutes. Filip Forsberg scored twice, and Ross Colton scored the other goal.
The crossbar got involved at both ends. Tom Wilson and Mavrik Bourque each rang one off the bar, so neither side can say the bounces went only one way. On even chances, the difference was the goaltending.
