Emotions were high this afternoon in what could possibly be Alex Ovechkin’s final game at Capital One Arena – but there was still a game to play, and the Caps knew anything short of a win would not be acceptable. It wasn’t going to be easy, because despite having locked up the second seed, the Penguins are not ever an easy out (and with more of their stars in the lineup, this was even more true today than yesterday).
Plus: Connor McMichael scoring a crucial goal for a little more breathing room and then adding an empty-netter for good measure was fun, but come on, how do you not love Trevor van Riemsdyk going to the front of the net and getting rewarded?? Love to see it.
Minus: The Caps let themselves get hemmed into the defensive zone a few too many times for comfort in this one, including a ridiculous almost four-minute shift that saw the boys absolutely dragging. Thankfully (and thanks to LT) they survived without incident.
Capitals Player of the Game: Has to be Logan Thompson. Stellar in the second of back-to-back games, in a much tougher outing than his performance yesterday.
And if this is the end for Alex Ovechkin’s time in DC…thank you for so, so many memories, captain. We salute you.