HUGE win. HUGE two points. Exciting game. Vokoun got the start but had to leave in the first because of an injury. Neuvy came in and picked up where Vokoun left off and both had strong games in net.
We needed this win and it started out rocky as Jason Chimera was given a game misconduct late in the first for a charge that sent Adam McQuaid into the boards and knocked him out of the game. No further information on McQuaid's condition was immediately available. It wasn't a dirty play in the least. Chimera was just finishing his check and McQuaid turned at the last second. Nothing Chimera could do. It was a hard hit but I wouldn't say it was dirty at all. Still tough for the Caps as we had to kill of a 5 minute major. We did and it certainly gave us some energy heading into the second.
Second period was evenly played and it was mostly a defensive struggle as neither team was able to get many shots on net.
Finally, in the third the Caps got a good goal from Wideman going top shelf giving the Caps a 1-0 advantage. Shortly thereafter, Ovi laid a perfect pass to MoJo for a one timer making it 2-0. There was still plenty of time and with about 4 minutes remaining, Chara threw an innocent looking wrister towards the net that bounced off someone and found its way passed Neuvy. I got a little nervous as I was just hoping to kill off the remaining few minutes. However, Wideman had a chance to clear and he didn't, the Bruins picked it up and had another long slap shot bounce off someone and get passed Neuvy again.
Ended up going to OT with both teams getting quality chances but neither capitalizing. Ended up going to SO and we suck at SO so there was definite concern.
Bruins went first and missed. Hendricks went first for us and if you haven't seen this guy go in SO, he has a filthy fake that paralyzes goalies and make them look silly. He did it recently to Nabakov, Brygalov, and yesterday Thomas. It is ridiculous how he embarrasses these guys. He is shooting nearly 70% in SOs. Strange because you wouldn't expect it from the guy. Anyway, he gave the Caps a 1-0 SO advantage. Bruins responded with a goal of their own making it 1-1. Ovi missed on his. Bruins scored in round 3 giving them a 2-1 lead. It was up to Semin to tie it up. He skated in hard and went backhand that went high right under the crossbar to keep the SO going into extra frames. Bruins failed on their round 4 attempt. Laich went for us and had a chance to end it. He too went backhand and got it passed Thomas for a thrilling end to the game.
Again, HUGE win for the Caps as we came into the game trailing idle Buffalo by two points. We now find ourselves tied for the 8th seed although Buffalo has the tie breaker right now. They face Pittsburgh tonight and a Buffalo loss would put us into the playoffs. We also trail Ottawa by two points and Florida by 4 points but both those teams have one less game played than us.
Only four more games left and we need at least 3 of those 4 for us to hope for a playoff spot and even then it is no guarantee. Buffalo is one of the hottest teams in the league right now so that's not good. It's essentially playoff hockey for all these teams right now as we are all fighting for a playoff spot.
It was a great win against a tough team yesterday and as good as we are feeling now, there is another game tomorrow night against the weaker Canadiens. It's a game we have to expect to win. However, as we all know the one thing about the Caps this season is they are far from consistent. Games you expect them to win, they will fail. It will be interesting to see what happens in that game tomorrow. The other interesting thing will be if Backstrom comes back. It would be a huge boost but it would also be interesting because he would be playing against the guy that knocked him out with the concussion. Whether he plays or not, we need that game. Hopefully they don't disappoint.
LETS GO CAPS!!!
2 comments:
Loved the Hendricks SO goal - I've seen him do that move a bunch of times and it always seems to work.
Good game - and a critical game. When it got tied late in the game I was shaking my head, but they showed some resolve and got the game. Good job.
What was interesting about Hendricks SO goal was that Beninati said right before he started that teams have to be picking up on the scouting report on him and he shouldn't be a surprise anymore. I was thinking the exact same thing when he said it.
Hendricks has a great fake wrist shot that freezes the goalie and makes them look ridiculous but he normally goes backhand. Yesterday, he went forehand. Great move and a great way to get the SO started.
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