[AP Recap – Game Summary – Event Summary – WashingtonCaps.com Postgame]
With an offensive core as explosive as the one the Capitals have it’s not all that often the team is going to be carried by its blueliners, especially in the offensive end. But that’s what happened yesterday afternoon as Tom Poti‘s four points (one goal, three assists), complimented by goals from Milan Jurcina and Mike Green, set the tone for Game Six and again ended Henrik Lundqvist‘s night after only forty minutes.
The chance for the defense to step to the forefront is well-deserved for an oft-criticized and under-appreciated group that has done well in the series against the Rangers. True, the Rangers aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut, and there’s certainly the chicken-or-the-egg debate of whether the team is shutting down the Rangers because of Simeon Varlamov or whether Simeon Varlamov’s solid play is proving the Capitals defense is better than people thought, but there’s no denying the results. In the five games Varlamov has started the Capitals have allowed just six goals (1.20 per game), 130 shots (26 per game), and have shut the Rangers out twice – bad news for a New York team that suddenly looks awfully shaky in their own end.
Some additional thoughts on yesterday’s game:
Here’s hoping for a better Game Seven result in a scenario that seems awfully familiar. Oh, psst, here’s a tip on how to get that result – glove side, high.
Win one game. Do it four three two times.