Tough loss for the Caps last night. Felt like we didn't dominate but largely outplayed the Lightning in the first two periods. We were by far the aggressors and had WAY more shots then them. Still, we couldn't put the puck in the net and found ourselves down 2-1 with less than two minutes remaining.
We pulled Neuvy for the extra attacker and Ovie came up big punching it in from right in front of the net with just over a minute left. The crowd was pumped and it looked good at that point.
In OT, Ovie made a great move and slid the puck right across the net but Johanson just missed it for the game winner. We had pretty good energy and chances to start OT but in the end it was a bad line shift that caught us in a 2 v 1 where Lecavalier got the puck all by himself in front of Neuvy for an easy goal. Tough way to lose and now we find ourselves down 2 games to none heading to TB for back to back games on Tues and Wed. It's a tall order but I still like our team and believe the series is far from over. The thing is I said that it's not over if we lose Game 2, the situation becomes a must win in Game 3 as we cannot afford to get down 3 games to zero.
One area that ABSOLUTELY must improve is the PP. We had a number of opportunities in yesterday's game and could not convert once. This is unacceptable. I do believe we are the better team between these two but on paper it doesn't matter. It's what you do on the ice that matters. Hopefully we come out tomorrow ready to go and score first to get the crowd out of it. A win tomorrow and the entire complexion of the series changes.
UNLEASH THE FURY!!!
2 comments:
Dam I dont know if its time to panic yet but... def getting a bit nervous here. I guess if the Caps can win tomorrow night they are right back in it with a chance to tie the series on Wednesday night. Tomorrow night is def the game of the season for the Caps. I think it would be very unlikely for them to come back from 0-3. Power play def needs to improve. They have to take it one period at a time in Tampa and just take advantage of the PPs. I dont know if the Caps play well under pressure. (Last year game seven, and the year before) My money is still on the Caps though. I cant see them losing again.
Tomorrow is a must win game. They can't afford to get down 3 games to none and expect to win.
However, a win tomorrow, and I think the pressure really swings back on to the Lightning as they will not want the Caps to tie it up and head back to DC. Also, the Lightning will be without a couple of guys (I expect Gagne to sit out and maybe even Kubina) so the guys on their team will have to pull a little extra ice time and that could tire them out more having to play back to back nights.
Still, I agree that Game 3 is the game of their season to this point and we have to win.
Post a Comment