Three things we’re talking about today when we’re talking about the Caps…
1. That’s More Like It
Playoff series are about adjustments and counter-adjustments. It’s often what separates good coaches and teams from great ones, or, more accurately teams with a lot of talent from true contenders. Clubs can win a lot of regular-season games with a talent advantage because the amount of opponent-specific preparation a team does over the course of 82 games playing every second or third night is minimal – go out there and play your game and if your guys are better than theirs, you’re gonna win more often than not. Get to the playoffs, however, and things turn almost football-like in terms game-planning – suddenly that talent gap can be narrowed by an approach to forechecking or a neutral-zone scheme or a penalty-killing twist.
Anyway, after Game 1, it was clear that the Caps needed to make adjustments, and so Spencer Carbery adjusted. Most noticeably, he turned up the forecheck, creating more sustained offensive opportunities and opening up the game a bit – maybe a dangerous gambit given the well-discussed talent (and speed) gap between the teams, but perhaps his only card to play and perhaps not as risky as it may seem, given the Rangers’ middling five-on-five play over the course of the season and the confidence Carbery has in his netminder. The results (well, the process, at least) were good:
Adjusting for score and venue, Natural Stat Trick had the Caps with 53.3% of the shot attempts, 56.2% of the shots, 65.7% of the scoring chances, 70.4% (!) of the high-danger scoring chances, and 59.6% of the expected goals at five-on-five. That’s a Caps team – playing on the road, where Peter Laviolette could line-match to his heart’s content, and in a game in which Dylan McIlrath, Lucas Johansen and Alex Alexeyev averaged more than 11 five-on-five minutes apiece – that controlled the game at fives… other than on the scoreboard, where it was 1-1.
It was an impressive effort, and after Game 2 you can at least see the road map to how the Caps can find some success in this series in a way it may have been harder to after Game 1 (and, not for nothing, you should be encouraged by what Carbery did to adjust following his first ever NHL playoff game as head coach). The Rangers finished the regular season with 23 more points in the standings than the Caps. Their goal differential was 90 better. But to anyone who watched Game 2, there’s no reason to think the Caps can’t make this series competitive as it heads back to Washington…
2. But Not That
…unless, of course, they continue to shoot themselves in the skates.
We talked about attention to detail the other day, and, well… still an issue. The Caps iced the puck too often, leading directly to Vincent Trochek’s game-tying first-period tally (on which Hendrix Lapierre lost his man) and to John Carlson’s second-period penalty that ended up as another Rangers goal (the Caps were 7-for-23 on defensive-zone draws on the night, so it’s easy to see how continuously icing the puck leads to almost inevitable disaster). On that point, the Caps took way too many penalties (six) in Game 2 and it cost them twice – first on a Mika Zibanejad goal on which three of the Caps’ four skaters were inexplicably in the same corner, leaving an easy 2-on-1 when the puck popped loose, and once on a beautiful snipe by Jack Roslovic that, while it’s unfair to put on Charlie Lindgren, is the type of great save they need from him in order to stay in the series. And then, of course, there was Alex Ovechkin’s misplay (?) that quickly turned into the eventual game-winning shorthanded goal.
Again, “the Caps will need to play near-perfect games to beat the Rangers.” Game 2 wasn’t close to perfect…and yet, there they were with a chance to tie the game right before the final horn. Minimize the mistakes and…maybe?
3. Zebra Show
And speaking of penalties…
Let’s start by saying that the officiating (referees Wes McCauley and Kendrick Nicholson) had a rough night in terms of doing their job well, and it cut both ways – a blatant trip by Martin Fehervary was missed, and a high-stick on T.J. Oshie similarly went uncalled, just two examples of many. But the most questionable call/non-call of the night came when Artemi Panarin predatorially launched into Oshie and got… a Rangers power play.
To the Caps’ absolute credit (and probably to the credit of their head coach’s demeanor), they kept their composure. They killed the penalty (on which Panarin skated the first half while Oshie was in concussion protocol). They killed the ensuing Nic Dowd roughing penalty. And they scored on a power play of their own (one that they likely only got because of the relatively minimal subjectivity involved in a Too Many Men call like that) before making one last failed push to tie the game.
Overall, special teams accounted for five of the game’s seven goals, with each teams scoring twice with the extra man (out of 11 combined chances), New York adding that shorty, and, most importantly for Wes McCauley, Wes McCauley being the star of the show.
That about sums it up. And the players and their fans deserve better.