Recap - Capitals 4, Rangers 0
by J.P. on Apr 25, 2009 12:04 AM EDT
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Print[AP Recap - Game Summary - Event Summary - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame]
Just 1:16 into last night's pivotal Game 5 of the first round series between the Caps and Rangers, Scott Gomez gifted the home team a golden opportunity to jump out to an early lead with a slashing penalty away from the play. But the pass-happy Caps' power play squandered that chance, and when Brian Pothier took a tripping penalty moments after its expiration, the first shockwave of despair was sent through CapsNation.
It was also the last.
Towards the end of the Ranger power play, Boyd Gordon sent a puck up the boards that Michal Roszival misplayed, and Matt Bradley beat Chris Drury to and with the puck before abusing Henrik Lundqvist with a move that you'd expect from a 40-goal scorer (or Matt Bradley) for the Caps' first playoff shorty since Steve Konowalchuk beat the Pens' Ron Tugnutt more than nine years ago. It was Bradley's first career playoff goal (he had entered the game with the third-most playoff games played of any active forward in the NHL without a goal), and, of course, it was scored with his mouthguard hanging halfway out of the mouth it was supposed to be guarding.
But while Brads waited 21-plus games to score his first playoff goal, he only had to wait seven minutes and change for his second. This one wasn't nearly as pretty, but in the grand scheme of things the no-angle seeing-eye wrister that somehow found it's way past Lundqvist and across the goal line might be even bigger for the team's psyche - Lundqvist, it seems, is human.
At the end of the first frame, the Rangers had just three shots on Simeon Varlamov, who had little trouble with any of them, and a two-goal deficit staring down at them from the scoreboard. Two goals - the same number they had scored in the previous 192:16 (9.5+ periods) of the series.
Yeah, this one was over.
Some additional thoughts on the game:
- Back to Varly, who became only the second netminder in Caps' history to post two shutouts in a playoff series (Olie Kolzig versus Ottawa in 1998 being the other). He only had to make 20 saves on the night (and only one in 6:45 of shorthanded time), but it was the kind of game that a goalie could easily have misplayed into a game. He didn't. He's now 2-2/0.76/.969 in the series, leading the League in those latter two stats. If there's a goalie who's in his opponent's head going into Game 6, it's most definitely the Russian and not the Swede.
- Alex Ovechkin's second goal of the series was as pretty as any he scored all season. He now has six points in five games (a 98-point pace), a plus-four rating, and has drawn five penalties without taking a single one, all against one of the best defensive teams in the League. And yet, people still think he's having a bad series. That in and of itself tells you all you need to know about how great a player AO is.
- Know what's awesome about buying a ticket to the game and then getting into an altercation with the visiting team's coach? Absolutely nothing. Idiot.
- Alex Semin now has seven goals,seven assists and a plus-six rating in 12 career playoff games.
- The media can talk all it wants about how much Sean Avery may have almost sorta cost the Rangers a game, but the guy who really has no business playing right now (Game 4's fluky game-winner notwithstanding) is Chris Drury. You have to admire his guts, but to be minus-3 in just 7:21 of ice time is abysmal.
- John Erskine continues to be a stud (plus-3 on the night), but how about a little love for Milan Jurcina?
- Sergei Fedorov has gone from looking old and slow to making noticeably bad decisions with the puck. Can Bruce Boudreau keep playing him right now? Considering the alternatives, probably... though it's an issue.
- Faceoffs were great again - 57/43 in the Caps' favor.
- After Game 1, I joked that by scoring a pair of power play goals in the opener "[p]erhaps the Rangers have filled their quota for these seven games, as they've now matched their output from the previous seven." In Games 2 through 5, the Rangers have gone 0-for-18 with the extra man. Who's laughing now? Well, besides Caps fans, I mean.
- On the flip side of the special teams coin, the Caps' power play is now 0-for-13 in its last two games. Not good.
- Prior to Friday night, Lundqvist had never been relieved of his duties in a playoff game. Something tells me, he's going to bounce back well.
- Did anyone get the impression that the Caps were even the slightest bit intimidated by all that message sending crap that John Tortorella had his troops engaging in during the third period?
There's plenty more to discuss, but it doesn't seem right to go into much further detail on what was good in this game with the cloud of a 3-2 series deficit and a road game ahead hanging over our collective heads. Add to that the fact that the last four times Lundqvist allowed four goals in a game he responded by allowing one goal or less (including, of course, Game 4 of this series), and the Caps certainly have their work cut out for them in Game 6. But at least there is a Game 6, which is all anyone could have asked for on Friday.
Win one game. Do it four three two times.
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The Varlamov save on Dubinsky (if I recall), where he was deked and still managed to get his arm out there? Awesome stuff.
The way Juice has been playing, he’s going to make the offseason choices tough.
If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the arse of a crow,
I'd fly over New York tomorrow,
And shite on those bastards below.
It was indeed Dubi and the attempt would not have gone in. He was too deep and the puck would have come outwards into the crease rather towards the goal. The Ranger at the top of the paint (Cally I think) was double teamed and had his stick off of the ice.
I have a blog too! www.scottyhockey.com
Let's Go Rangers!
by Scotty Hockey on Apr 25, 2009 4:53 AM EDT up reply actions
The way Juice has been playing, he’s going to make the offseason choices tough.
He has shown this before. His play confuses me more than any other player on the roster. I’ve always thought he could be a 3/4 D-man, but never plays well consistently. He has size and can use it, skates fairly well for said size, and has a nice heavy shot. He has looked great at times, especially when paired with Mo or Alzner, and other times he looks like he has no business being on the ice. I think its all mental with him. When it appears he feels comfortable and confident he performs well on the blueline and shoots the puck on net. When he’s not he plays completely tentative in both zones and takes dumb penalties.
Hopefully since we still have our backs against the wall we will come out with another strong performance and crash the net like we did to start tonight’s game. I’m a little concerned that we haven’t gotten back to back wins and Lundqvist doesn’t have bad starts back to back very often.
I know he’s played well but it’s only a matter of time before that soft goal in game 4 gets in Varlamov’s head and it blows up in our faces. He’s now gone a little over 48 hours since that goal, with about 38 more to go before game 6. That’s an awful long time for a kid to go thinking about such a bad goal. We should preemptively put Theo in just to make sure immaturity doesn’t cost us this series.
by Rob Parker on Apr 25, 2009 12:22 AM EDT reply actions 7 recs
Put Theo in? Are you serious? Or am I missing something… you can’t be serious.
by DonnieKnutts on Apr 25, 2009 12:36 AM EDT up reply actions
You put a lot of thought into it F & B. Rec’d!
If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the arse of a crow,
I'd fly over New York tomorrow,
And shite on those bastards below.
by Bald Pollack on Apr 25, 2009 12:39 AM EDT up reply actions
i’ll agree that a lot of thought went into this! but i think a lot of nervous energy went into it, also. unless BB has become fluent in russian or set up shop in between varlamov’s ears, i’m not sure he’ll have any idea how the kid is handling that bad goal. it could also be conjectured that theo will still be suffering the after effects of game 1 and his subsequent benching. (some goalies never fully recover from that kind of one-and-done rejection.) on the evidence of 3 goals allowed in 4 games, and with the blessing of all the other players, we’ve got to stick with varly from here on out.
plus…realistically…BB makes himself an easy target for criticism and backlash if he benches the goalie that just recorded 2 shutouts in 3 games. at this point, there won’t be any further second guessing of his decision to bench theo, no matter how the team performs in game 6.
by Natty Bumppo on Apr 25, 2009 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions
Wait, you mean tonight’s absence of a bad goal – of any goal, actually – isn’t enough to put Varlamov at ease? He handled tonight extremely well, after that bad goal. I don’t think he’s thinking about that anymore.
by DrinkingPartner on Apr 25, 2009 12:52 AM EDT up reply actions
I love that we finally put pressure right into Lundqvist’s face. Bradley with the break away shorty taken right in close. Semin multiple times fakes out the goalie on drives to the net. Ovechkin with an incredible set of moves to get to the net and score instead of just using a d-man for a screen 30 feet out. Fehr turning the corner and jamming the puck at the goal. Gordon crashing the goalie into the net on the same play.
That is what we need to do to win. Yes, two of the goals were still from outside, and one was weak (sorry Brads, the King should have had the 2nd one) but we have to not only have traffic in front of the net, we also need to take the puck there with confidence and power as well.
by HateOffSeason on Apr 25, 2009 2:46 AM EDT up reply actions
Do the Caps finally have a goalie to grow with the team?
When the Caps started to rebuild the team around Ovie years ago, I found it troubling that they were not doing the same in net. It seemed to me that while teams had thrown their young goalies right into the fire (Montreal’s Price, Pittsburgh’s Fluery), there weren’t any in the pipeline for the Caps. They had an aging goalie who spent his last years putting dents in his career numbers with a young team.
But, after last night’s win, I came away hoping that Washington may finally have turned the corner on their goalie situation. The post-Kolzig era of GMGM seeming to want veteran goalies between the pipes may be at an end. The Age of Varlamov has arrived.
uhh...uhh...uhh...
The Age of Varlamov has arrived.
If there is a silver lining to this wretched (so far) playoff year, it is that. Goalies are quite the enigma, but this looks very promising. Having lived (suffered) through the Meteoric Age of Jim Carey, however, I am ever cautious with regard to falling in love with those odd chaps that tend nets in the Bigs. But it is looking like a fair wind is blowing.
On a related note: God bless JT60. You talk about a consummate professional, there is your prime example. Imagine the things that are running through his mind but NOT out of his mouth. Yet.
Neuvirth also
Neuvy was solid in his NHL starts and is having a pretty good run in the Bears playoff games so far. It thrills me that we have two equally good young goalies on their way up. (I have a soft spot for goaltenders.)
by CapitalCentre on Apr 25, 2009 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions
The problem hasn’t been in the net. The problem is the offense. Varlamov is doing as well or better than Jose right now. If the Caps can get some goals on Lundstrum (thanks, Grapes!) in any of the losses to the Rangers this series is over after last night.
uhh...uhh...uhh...
It’s funny because everytime the Rangers get a PP I don’t get scared. I don’t getting scared about getting scored on as much as I did when Theo was in. Now the only thing I seem to worry about is Hank. They solved him last night early in the game, and that was it, the game was over. They MUST come out strong and get a goal in the first period on Monday. In the games where they have not gotten a first period goal in this series, they have lost.
According to Wes Johnson post-game, stick came through the seams between panes of plexi first, from the Rangers bench, only then followed by a fan beer dump.
Playoff hockey.
by Stephen Pepper on Apr 25, 2009 12:25 AM EDT reply actions
I can’t believe that Torts lost it like that… Can the rink either deny or substantiate this report? That is the sort of stuff that “Campbell reviews and strong admonitions/inaction” are made of.
a good question. do we have any regulars or “lurkers” that live in the pricey section behind the visitor’s bench? any first-hand accounts?
by Natty Bumppo on Apr 25, 2009 1:32 AM EDT up reply actions
I was on the far end behind Varlamov and saw a beer in midair. Assuming Barry’s remotely close to the truth on this, Campbell’s gotta impose a team fine and possibly a bench suspension to Torts. But like everything else, we’ll see.
If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the arse of a crow,
I'd fly over New York tomorrow,
And shite on those bastards below.
by Bald Pollack on Apr 25, 2009 1:36 AM EDT up reply actions
If they suspend Torts he shouldn’t be able to practice with them tomorrow either. It won’t happen so it’s moot. I’d take a mandatory suspension of Avery just because though. I love the Avery-less Rags.
Ambushing me in another thread, huh. That post about Varlamov is my own personal shout out to Theo60.
Speaking of which…what happened to the fanpost by Theo60 where he was arguing to start Theo for game 6?
by HateOffSeason on Apr 25, 2009 2:39 AM EDT up reply actions
To quote J.P., he kinda took his ball and went home, and apparently a user can delete a post before (or in lieu of) an admin’s discretion.
If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the arse of a crow,
I'd fly over New York tomorrow,
And shite on those bastards below.
by Bald Pollack on Apr 25, 2009 7:16 AM EDT up reply actions
i was on a bit of a high last night…and hey, we’ve all seen crazier. :)
by Natty Bumppo on Apr 25, 2009 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions
No suspensions will happen to Torts or Orr or any other Ranger in the playoffs. Campbell doesn’t have the BALLS to suspend any of them. ESPECIALLY in the playoffs.
by vt caps fan on Apr 25, 2009 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions
As he’s suspended a Bruin and a Flyer already, I’ll go out on a limb and say there’s not a huge conspiracy here.
If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the arse of a crow,
I'd fly over New York tomorrow,
And shite on those bastards below.
by Bald Pollack on Apr 25, 2009 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions
No conspiracy… unless your a Bruins fan that doesn’t know how the hell there were zero Habs suspensions in all that mess. I’m sure Flyers fans aren’t all that happy that their guy got suspended when other guys did similar things and didn’t get suspended. The uneven and opaque disciplinary process lends itself to conspiracy theories.
Agreed on the latter, fo sho.
If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the arse of a crow,
I'd fly over New York tomorrow,
And shite on those bastards below.
by Bald Pollack on Apr 25, 2009 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions
I think the problem is pure incompetence. There is simply no explanation I can accept as to why Carcillo got suspended for that and Cammalleri/Avery did not for their very, very similar actions.
On a related note, Avery has intentionally taken one of the ends of his stick to a Caps’ player’s face 3 times I can remember offhand. Where is the discipline? I’d be a little more outraged had Torts not effectively suspended Avery himself.
Not to mention
Spearing Erksine in the neck.
I guess what happens after the whistle doesn’t happen unless you’re in front of a microphone
No conspiracy?
He’s suspended players for doing far less than Avery’s done and we haven’t heard anything about that.
Fehr needs to be traded. I said that here many moons ago, and nothing I’ve seen from him has changed my mind. From the time he was injured and people clamored for his return, to today when he’s practically invisible, he still looks like AHL material to me. Or should I give him more time?
uhh...uhh...uhh...
Except for Brash, Fehr had the fewest minutes last night. 10:31. The next closest guy was Kozlov with 13:26. I don’t know what Fehr has done, but he certainly seems be in the dog house. I have a problem being harsh on him when he doesn’t get any time to prove himself.
He and Brads got flipped b/t the 3rd and 4th lines, and it’s hard to argue with the results.
As for Fehr himself, he has one goal in his last 16 games and two in his last 25. At some point, you’ve gotta produce to justify ice time.*
* Rule does not apply if you have red hair.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I agree, though I think that at this point is a sprial that is feeding on itself. He’s getting less ice time because he isn’t producing, but he’s not producing because he’s getting less ice time. I know you guys all know, but my bitterness is about the injustice of Flash not producing and getting ice time, and Fehr not producing and getting benched.
This is true, I distinctly remember a play last night where Fehr skated right around the defensemen on the left side and took the puck straight to the net and in the crease and almost scored a goal. He got a penalty out of it, but it started the scrum and “chaos” that they need right in front of the net; especially Brash punching Dubi lol. It’s little things like this that the Caps aren’t always doing in this series, and I still like Fehr regardless of what people say.
Agreed. He can have Flash’s or Kozlov’s spot on a higher line, as far as I’m concerned. Part of the problem is that Flash and Kozlov are even more useless on a checking line, so this might be the most effective way to get the best 18 skaters on the ice from a team perspective. Assuming you believe that Flash/Kozlov are better than someone we’re scratching/Aucoin. Which is a pretty big assumption right now.
That reminds me: What was up with the Caps and Eminger? Is it the same thing with the team and Fehr?
by red army line on Apr 25, 2009 10:40 PM EDT up reply actions
darn sure didn’t look invisible to me last night. he had the two best drives to the net (aside from ovie’s work around the pylons at the end of the 2nd) in the game, had at least two takeaways below the net to keep the forecheck going (where he completely overpowered rags d-men). he’s big, strong, and one of the few guys on our roster who effectively drives the net. he’s absolutely a keeper, imo.
by mechanicsville on Apr 25, 2009 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions
I think he gets a lot crap too because he isn’t the high-octane skilled forward that we see in the culture of Washington’s offense today. He is a role-player and a work-horse, and I most definitely think he has the potential to do something like Matt Bradley did last night. I’ve liked this kid since day one when I saw him at Piney Orchard in ‘03, and I’m standing by him.
Fehr needs to be traded. I said that here many moons ago, and nothing I’ve seen from him has changed my mind. From the time he was injured and people clamored for his return, to today when he’s practically invisible, he still looks like AHL material to me. Or should I give him more time?
Given that he scores at a pretty good rate when he plays, despite playing with poor teammates, that he doesn’t make very much money and that his trade value isn’t that high, I don’t see any reason to trade him.
I was too busy picking up my jaw as it was coming my way.
If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the arse of a crow,
I'd fly over New York tomorrow,
And shite on those bastards below.
by Bald Pollack on Apr 25, 2009 12:40 AM EDT up reply actions
Vintage Ovie.
Game 6, eh? Didn’t he pot 2 last year? I’d go so far as to call that, again.
by DrinkingPartner on Apr 25, 2009 12:54 AM EDT up reply actions
J.P. – I thought Bradley deserved his own bullet tonight. Talk about greatest day in the life of.
Nothing special, just the bullet and his name.
he’ll bring it up 1000x when he replaces laughlin in the booth in 20 years..
by Natty Bumppo on Apr 25, 2009 1:39 AM EDT up reply actions
Brads got two paragraphs! Paragraphs > bullets. :)
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Speaking of suspensions...
Possibility that Voros and Orr get sat down by the league?
If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the arse of a crow,
I'd fly over New York tomorrow,
And shite on those bastards below.
You think? From my view they were bad penalties but nothing like Avery has done multiple times already in this series.
Considering who took said penalties, you know. I dunno, Zipay mentioned it in passing in his post-mordem, figured I’d toss it out there.
If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the arse of a crow,
I'd fly over New York tomorrow,
And shite on those bastards below.
by Bald Pollack on Apr 25, 2009 2:01 AM EDT up reply actions
For what its worth, they came outside of that five minute mark that the league seemed to arbitrarily set …
I have a blog too! www.scottyhockey.com
Let's Go Rangers!
by Scotty Hockey on Apr 25, 2009 4:55 AM EDT up reply actions
Regarding the beer fan:
I would practically kill for a seat that put me in a position to pour beer on Torts.
But I would’ve just as much wanted to kill the fan before he made such an asinine, unsportsmanlike action.
I hope he is banned for at least the season and his ticket given to a cancer kid center or left open. The Caps fans I know are far above such inconceivably poor representation of Verizon fans
I dunno. If its true that Torts threw the water bottle first and started waving the stick around like an idiot, then I think its kind of hard to get mad at a fan for throwing something back
by Sombrero Guy on Apr 25, 2009 8:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Kudos to JP
Anytime you can fit a Steve Konowalchuk name drop into a post is a good time. Loved that guy, a career that ended way too soon.
I have a blog too! www.scottyhockey.com
Let's Go Rangers!
If I remember right, kinda owned Peca in a fight one year too.
If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the arse of a crow,
I'd fly over New York tomorrow,
And shite on those bastards below.
by Bald Pollack on Apr 25, 2009 7:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Center Michael Peca dislocated his shoulder in a fight as the Washington Capitals skated to a pivotal 2-1 victory in a Sunday battle of the 1998 Eastern Conference finalists. Sabres general manager Darcy Regier announced Monday that Peca will have to sit four to six weeks with the injury, meaning most likely he won’t play again in the regular season.
“I’m not going to whine about it. I think it’s a physical game and things are going to happen,” Peca, his arm in a sling, said as the Sabres practiced Monday. “I know things don’t always go the way you’d like them to and that’s why it’s a team game.”
Peca instigated the fight after the final horn and weaved to the locker room after falling under Capitals left wing Steve Konowalchuk.
“I did not see it, but he said that Konowalchuk cross-checked him in the face and went after him,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “He was bleeding and has a dislocated shoulder.”
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Why can’t you let me remember things like I wanna?
If I had the wings of an eagle,
If I had the arse of a crow,
I'd fly over New York tomorrow,
And shite on those bastards below.
by Bald Pollack on Apr 25, 2009 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions
Worse than Fedorov was Kozlov. He looks slow, sloppy with the puck and I found myself screaming at the TV as he gave up the puck three times on one shift, twice in the defensive zone. It was painful to watch.
I disagree. No Caps forward was worse than Feds last night, imo. That’s not to say that Kozzie distinguished himself in any way, but Feds… man.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Apr 25, 2009 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
what bothers me most about Fedorov is his dumb mistakes. If you’re an old vet that’s the ONE thing you shouldn’t be doing.
He’s old, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. He can’t keep up which is why makes dump mistakes and takes so many stick infractions.
At least his non-superstardom is making Ovie pick up his game. I would have told you that wasn’t possible two weeks ago. Now I think otherwise.
by red army line on Apr 25, 2009 10:44 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree. Kozlov definitely had a couple heinous giveaways in the d zone, but I thought he played more effectively in the offensive zone than he has in a while. Still, the best I can bring myself to say is he was LESS BAD than #91.
by mechanicsville on Apr 25, 2009 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Kozlov was flying in the 3rd of Game 4.
by red army line on Apr 25, 2009 10:44 PM EDT up reply actions
but it doesn't seem right to go into much further detail on what was good in this game with the cloud of a 3-2 series deficit and a road game ahead hanging over our collective heads.
JP is exactly right. I had a swell time, Brads was a hero, Ovie dazzled, Varley shown, the rest of the boys fought hard, I was proud — but then I woke up this morning. Down 3-2 with still no margin for error.
by Uncle C on Apr 25, 2009 8:21 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
If Theo starts ANY game...
It’ll be too soon for me. Here’s to Semyon getting us out of this round alive.
Rangers keep playing for 20 seconds after the second period ends because the stadium is so loud they can’t hear the horn go off.
That is what verizon should be known for, not beer pouring.
that was waaay cool
I had never seen that before, where they keep playing because they can’t hear the horn. It was a very happy room.
That’s kind of funny. Though I am pretty sure the goal horn went off for about 10 solid seconds following Ovie’s goal last night :)
It fills me with immense pride to hear VC rocking like that. We Caps fans need to figure out a way to start some unique chants/songs – they could be deafening in there with a packed house.
Natty-
Talked with a couple STH’s who have tickets in Section 100. What they told me is that there were frustrated Rangers fan’s, seated behind the Rangers bench, who had been heckling, taunting Tortorella since the 1st period. They told me that 4 Rangers fans, one of whom was clearly polluted were removed. The fat guy in the video was tagged as being one of the Ranger fans involved with the heckling. Tortorella obviously lost his cool with these guys and threw the water bottle and then attempted to go after this guy with a stick.
They never saw a beer get thrown and I think the eyewitness statements from the ushers/event staff should be taken at face value. Tort’s didn’t like what was being said and instead of keeping his cool..he decided to retaliate. Don’t know if Campbell will suspend Torts, but based on the eyewitness accounts..it’s merited.
by Bucky Katt-Luvs Caps on Apr 25, 2009 11:14 AM EDT reply actions
This doesn’t surprise me, and it probably hurts wayyyy worse to get heckled by your OWN fans at an AWAY game. Probably why he lost it.
Off tangent – A few years ago, #10 clemson played at VT on a thursday night. A fan got kicked out of the game, cause he threw an empty bottle of whiskey at HC Tommy Bowden.
This hit the media, and they were ripping on tech’s fans behavior. The media quickly shut up, because it was a Clemson fan who threw the bottle at his own coach.
by vt caps fan on Apr 25, 2009 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions
yeah, wow… that certainly makes the situation a little different
by kellobellow on Apr 25, 2009 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions
Know what’s awesome about coaching an NHL team and then getting into an altercation with the visiting team’s fans? Absolutely nothing. Idiot.
by FuManChewbacca on Apr 25, 2009 11:44 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
Backstrom's assist
I love Backy and all that, but did anyone else notice that he never came close to touching that puck on the Semin goal?
Also—thought Fehr had a strong game. Took it strong to the hoop a few times and caused a couple goalmouth scrambles.
Definitely noticed that Backstrom didn’t touch that puck before it got to Semin. Oh well. Goal still counts.
I remember Ovie had two goals in that game well all remember at Phoenix for his second goal. His first, he just dumped it in and the Coyotes defenseman tried to make a pass that slightly deflected off Zubrus and ended up in and Ovechkin’s goal. They were joking that Ovechkin had to make up for his softy earlier.
by red army line on Apr 25, 2009 10:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Any goal straight off a face-off, the assist will by default go to the centerman. The puck has to get there somehow!
by DonnieKnutts on Apr 25, 2009 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions
The slightly worrisome thing is...
…all of the chatter today—both here and elsewhere in the NHL blogosphere—sounds awfully similar to what everybody was saying after Game 3. And we all know what happened next.
Nothing that happened in Game 5 will matter if we don’t dominate the first period of Game 6. We’re in deep trouble if we don’t score first. Gotta get to Hank early and often.
said another way: game 3 and game 5 will be great memories in a few months, but game 7 is the one i want to remember!
by Natty Bumppo on Apr 25, 2009 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Couple of thoughts -
That contract the Lumberjack signed in the middle of the season is looking good all of a sudden. I know its the Rags, but I dare anyone to claim that they thought Erskine would be our best D-man in this series.
BB & Caps get PP situation straightened out and we win game 6. Otherwise its a coin toss.
Tort's Rampage
Does anyone here think there’s a chance Torts went ballistic so that the media would talk about something other than how bad his team is playing…and to try and fire up his team and the Ranger fans for game 6. Seems plausible that he would reach into his bag of tricks for this kind of thing, whether the fan started it or not.
You can go ballistic without throwing things over the glass, don’t you think? Unless witnesses are lying, he has to be suspended. Then again, this is the NHL, so I don’t really expect it. The gal who got hit with the water bottle is pretty riled up (and probably enjoying her fifteen minutes of fame, too). I could see her trying to press charges, just for the heck of it.
If Larry Brooks is correct, Torty could be facing a fine and/or suspension: Tortorella Could Face Suspension
How funny is that…the guy who sat Avery, is now looking at a suspension. Irony…they name is “Tortorella”.
by Bucky Katt-Luvs Caps on Apr 25, 2009 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions
According a Newsday blog, as of about an hour ago, no one has been suspended for tomorrow. If true and it remains that way, that’s just an invitation for someone to get really hurt tomorrow, in my opinion.
I expect that Sunday will be an intensly physical game, with the same type of chippy play that we saw yesterday. I also expect that win or lose we’ll see some nastiness from the MSG crowd.
by Bucky Katt-Luvs Caps on Apr 25, 2009 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Tortorella suspended for Game 6
Just announced, WOW
Will J.P. write a post about how playoff teams do when they have players/coaches suspended?
by red army line on Apr 25, 2009 10:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Ok I'll admit it...
Jurcina has been playing a lot better than I thought he would in the series and he was effective in Game 5. Kudos to him. Now Juice, keep doing that….
Let's go Caps!
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Southeast Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Florida
|
53 | 25 | 17 | 11 | 61 |
|
Washington
|
54 | 28 | 21 | 5 | 61 |
|
Winnipeg
|
56 | 26 | 24 | 6 | 58 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
53 | 23 | 24 | 6 | 52 |
|
Carolina
|
55 | 20 | 25 | 10 | 50 |
(updated 2.10.2012 at 9:27 AM EST)
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