The first two games of this playoff series were close. Two one goal games, either could have turned on a lucky bounce off the crossbar or a skate. But neither did. Last night's game didn't either, but the Caps didn't need it to, scoring four times against King Henrik while rookie Simeon Varlamov pitched a shutout at the other end. It was a strong enough performance to redefine this series.
That isn't to say that luck wasn't on the Caps' side though - it certainly was. After Alexander Semin opened the scoring in the first period, the Rangers pressured Varlamov at the other end. With Varlamov out of the net after blocking a shot, Ryan Callahan had a shot at an open net from two feet away. He hit the inside of the post and the puck skidded along the line and was swept out of the crease. While everyone (including myself) assumed the Rangers had just tied the game up, the Caps took the puck back the other way, and scored themselves, turning a 1-1 game into a 2-0 advantage.*
That was as close as the Rangers would come to scoring (which, admittedly, is pretty damn close) all night. Varlamov was effective, if not pretty. For all the talk that his shutting out the Rangers will surely engender, there were some holes in his game positioning-wise. But for last night at least his quick reflexes and ability to follow the puck through traffic were enough.
As for the Caps offense, they again out-shot the Rangers, but this time they were able to get the puck in closer. All the Caps goals came from directly in front of the net. No superfabulous Mike Green bombs from the point, or quick wristers from between the circles. Give the Caps credit, they realized that Lundqvist is too good for that right now, and they not only talked about changing their strategy, but they actually followed through on it.
As for the series, the Rangers still lead two games to one, but the Caps have a chance to tie it up and regain home ice advantage if they can replicate their performance tomorrow (Wednesday) night.
*This sequence reminded me somewhat of the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, the only Finals the Caps have participated in in their less than storied history. Looking the series up on www.hockey-reference.com, I was disappointed to find that you can't access the specific records for each playoff game.
My memory of the series is after a one goal loss to the Red Wings in Detroit, the Caps came back in game two to take a 4-1 lead. The Caps were pressing for more and after a couple bounces Esa Tikkanen found himself with the biscuit on the twig (as they say) right in front of the goal. The goalie, Chris Osgood was on the other side of the ice, all Tikkanen had to do was push the puck across the goal line and the Caps would have an insurmountable 5-1 advantage. An infant could have accomplished this task. Sadly, Tikkanen missed the net entirely. Of course, the Red Wings came back to tie the game, and won it in overtime. They then took the next two games as well and the cup. Doh.
3 comments:
C-A-P-S, Caps, Caps, Caps!
I will buy a Kolzig throwback if Brashear yanks Avery, kicking and screaming off of the Rangers bench, drags him to center ice, pounds him in to dust and then mock T-bags him in front of the duped Avery-loving Rangers fans.
That's all I ask.
Sounds reasonable to me. I, too, will buy a Kolzig throwback if that happens.
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