The Caps got lucky

In staying with my "thinking positive" theme, I'm not going to talk about game 1 against the Rangers in the second round of the playoffs.  It's better that way.  Instead, I'll focus on what I liked about tonight's game, starting with the fact that the Caps got lucky tonight.  They don't often get lucky.

They got lucky when John Carlson's "what just happened here" moment, at the end of a power play, almost cost the Caps a goal as Carlson lost the puck to the rookie Chris Kreider (the one that got the GWG for the Rangers in game 1 coming out of the box.  Instead Braden Holtby made a great save and then the puck went back the other way.  Matt Hendricks got the puck, put it between his legs and tried to slide it past Henrik Lundqvist.  Lundqvist lost the puck, Jason Chimera shoved at it as he's draped around the goal post corner and it deflected off a Ranger's skate into the net.  That happens against the Caps not for the Caps.

The Caps got lucky because the Rangers hit a goal post and a crossbar.  On the last scoring chance near the end of the third period, the puck bounced off the underside of the crossbar and popped back out.  I watched that slow motion replay and thought, wow, that is usually a goal against for the Caps.

They also got lucky despite some early officiating that went against them.  How Marian Gaborik doesn't get a penalty for slamming Matt Hendricks into the boards headfirst by the team doors continues to make me shake my head. But, I'm getting used to this kind of officiating in the NHL.

Other efforts to applaud:

• Old man Mike Knuble winning the foot race and stretching out his stick to prevent the icing very late in the third.
• Mike Knuble/Joel Ward connecting again for the first goal on a pretty passing play by Ward.  He's earning more of his paycheck with every playoff game.  
• Alex Ovechkin blasting a beautiful game winning power play goal past Lundqvist.  
• Jay Beagle bringing it every night and getting rewarded by Dale Hunter with the highest forward TOI tonight.
• Karl Alzner burning out time on the clock at the end of the third by trapping the puck during a scrum with the Rangers behind Holtby.  Awesome.

It's an interesting strategy Coach Dale Hunter is using, but I'm willing to see where it takes the Caps.

Game 3 returns to the phone booth on Wednesday.

Let's go Caps!

How sweet it is

To watch the Caps win a game 7 in overtime against the defending Stanley Cup champions.  And, of course, it had to go to overtime.  But, it's over and the Caps prevailed to move on.  I decided to take Mike Wise's advice and think positive today.  All day, I kept telling myself that the Caps were going to win tonight.  That's tough to do that when you're a Caps fan and have seen more playoff misery than you care to remember.  Yes, there are highlights, like the current coach's game winner in overtime against the Flyers, but those moments are easily outnumbered by the failures.

Not tonight though.  Instead, Joel Ward earned his paycheck by cashing in on a Mike Knuble rebound in OT.  Knuble deserves tons of credit, too, for getting that puck to the net first.  I don't think he'll be watching any more playoff games from the press box.

The other player I have to commend is, of course, Matt Hendricks.  He potted his first playoff goal in this game 7 to put the Caps up 1-0.  He continued to play his gritty and aggressive game throughout the game.

Braden Holtby, the 22-year old rookie goalie, played a stellar series against the Bruins.  There may be something to the rumor that the youngster needed his next challenge.  He had his weak moments and scared me early on tonight, but he's got confidence and is withstanding the pressure of the playoffs, so far.

And, then there was Dale Hunter's series strategy.  He matched up against Claude Julien quite well.  Whatever anyone thinks about Alex Ovechkin's lack of playing time in a series where it's hard to get him space against Charo/Seidenberg, it worked.  I don't think it will necessarily be that way against other opponents, but I'm not going to question it now.

The Caps won't know their second round opponent until tomorrow.  Tonight, it doesn't matter anyway.  I'm a happy Caps fan, for once.

Let's go Caps!
p.s.  This was the first time in NHL history that a playoff series had all 1-goal games.  As a Caps fan, I hated it.  But, for fans of hockey, this was a great series.

The Third Line and the Maddening Caps

Joel Ward impressed me in the playoffs last year for Nashville because he had 13 points - 7 goals, 6 assist in his 12 playoff games and played +4 hockey.  In 80 games during the regular season, Ward garnered 29 points and played -1 hockey.  Clearly, this is a guy that picks up his intensity in the playoffs.  He's a hard working forward that battles for pucks along the boards and I was excited that GMGM picked him up this summer.


Now, he's joined with Jason Chimera and Brooks Laich as part of the Caps checking line and the chemistry is evident based on how well this line has performed while playing against the top lines of their opponents.  That line had 2 goals and 1 assist against Carolina and Chimera got the 3rd star.  Then, Chimera had 2 goals and that line had 4 points against Tampa Bay while keeping their top line of Ryan Malone-Steven Stamkos-Martin St. Louis to 1 point. Malone got the lone point for an assist without Stamkos and St. Louis.  Nhl.com awarded Chimera the second star for his play and he was the first star for the game. 


I'm liking that line.  They weren't as impressive against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but I think that line is going to be key for the Caps if they can manage to do other things right, which remains to be seen.


So, why are the Caps maddening, part 1?  How about because their passing looks like the Mites on Ice and they look disorganized way too often.  In the Pittsburgh game, the Caps looked downright horrible in the first period, played better in the second, but trailed off in the third.  They managed a paltry 19 shots on net compared to the Crosby-less Penguins 41 shots.  They're not going to win too many playoff games playing that way.


Why are the Caps maddening, part 2? Yes, they're 3-0, but they've given away 3 standing points to 2 division rivals and 1 Eastern conference rival by not being capable of closing out a game in regulation.   That doesn't matter now, but it will in April.


Other notes...

• Thankfully, Boudreau has paired Mike Green with Roman Hamrlik instead of Jeff Schultz.  Game over Green, with the overtime winner against Carolina, is starting to look like his old self again and Hamrlik seems to helping that.  I like Hamrlik's game, too.  He's faster than Scott Hannan, even at age 37, and still throws his body out there to block shots.
• After a rocky start against Tampa Bay, Tomas Vokoun stood on his head in overtime and the shootout.  He looked strong against Pittsburgh, too, stopping 39 of those 41 shots.
• Nicklas Backstrom is starting to look like his old self again, too, and that pass to Dennis Wideman for the game winning goal against Pittsburgh was sweet indeed.  Backstrom needs to be successful this season or the Caps won't make it very far in the second season.

The Ottawa Senators are in town for tonight's game.

Let's go Caps!