Great win last night as the Caps throttled the Canadiens 5-1. It was what I was waiting for and good to see the Caps show their superiority to this team. Now we need to finish them quickly and rest up for the next series. Don't take that to mean look past the Canadiens and/or take them lightly. We need to play the rest of the series the way we played and we can't take care of them.
The game last night can be summed up by the following analysis of each period:
First Period: VARLY!!! Looks like Boudreau made the right call going with Varly. That guy was money all night but particularly in the first period as he made at least 4 great saves that could have otherwise blown the game open for the Habs. The Canadiens had by far the better opportunities in the first period and again is a reminder of how the Caps consistently seem to start off slowly in games. Thank goodness for Varly as he really stepped up and sparked the Caps.
Second Period: Caps on fire!!! We were obviously much better in the second period and really took the game to them by scoring 4 goals in the period. It all started with a short handed goal by Boyd Gordon and then Laich, Fehr, and Ovie each got into the action. What was great about the goals were, outside of Ovie's, they all came from "supporting" players. The goals weren't from the usual suspects (Semin, Backstrom, Knuble). We need for those guys to chip in if we expect to play on.
Also, it was clear the Canadiens were losing it. They clearly were frustrated with not cracking the Varly code in the first period and then giving up 4 goals in the second. They took some frustration penalties and tried to engage Caps players into fights. To our credit, we did not fall into their traps. Good discipline.
Third Period: Understand how to play with the lead. We did a good job of protecting the lead and our net and played nice, controlled hockey. We weren't overly aggressive and that is what championship teams need to understand. How to protect a lead late in the game.
All in all, a quality performance and something I had hoped for and expected as we carried the performance and momentum from Game 2. Again, now we need to focus on Game 4 and take the commanding 3-1 lead. Looks like we are pretty much set at goaltending and looks like the team has been able to relax more and play the way we are capable of playing. The Canadiens will be pressing so we need to start playing better early on. Also will be interesting to see if the Canadiens go with Carey Price or Halak. Both are young and talented. Price has not been good against the Caps but it might be time for them to shake their lineup up and Price was solid in the last game.
Either way, we need to keep playing our game.
LETS GO CAPS!!!!
3 comments:
Great win. This is what I expected after the big win on Saturday night.
Montreal had its chance for the upset and had the Caps on the ropes, but after they lost on Saturday it is over.
I think this series is over as well. I expect the Caps to come out with a similar effort on Wednesday.
Carey Price will probably get the start and he has been terrible in the playoffs and really hasn't played much in the latter part of the season. I expect a field day for the Caps.
Pressure is on the Habs and their team, coaches, and fans know it. It will be a raucous crowd but if we put up an early goal to take the lead, we will suck out all the energy in that building.
Sounds like JKSD is looking for the Caps to take a page out of his playbook for finishing quickly....I think the Habs still have something left, hence, I'm still worried about Wednesday's game. I hope the Caps continue to have the energy to forecheck as well as they did last night.
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