What a start to the NHL playoffs for the Washington Capitals. I attended the game last night at the Verizon center and needless to say the atmosphere was unlike anything I had ever seen. The game one story would start and end with the spectacular play of both goaltenders. Henrik Lundqvist and Michal Neuvirth made the task of scoring quite difficult for the offenses.
The Caps would top the Rangers 2-1 in overtime to take the first game in the series. Alexander Semin would cause the crowd to erupt with just a few minutes left in extra time with the winning goal. This ended his 14 game goal drought in the playoffs. Thank God!!!! The Rangers started the scoring in the series with a Matt Gilroy goal early in the third period. New York simply caught the Washington defense sleeping when Gilroy put away the puck.
Neuvy would not allow another goal in his first playoff appearance. He logged 24 saves and kept the Caps in this game with some great saves, the biggest one on Marian Gaborik in the second period. Although Lundqvist played very well, he couldn’t keep the Capitals from finding ways to score. Alex Ovechkin scored Washington’s first goal and gave the Verizon Center hope when he tied it. When I saw Ovi jam the puck in the net my first thought that came to mind was, “Is that Knuble”? He obviously showed Ovi some pointers at practice the past few days.
Now let’s touch base with my five keys to the series that all were a factor in the win.
1. Ovi? He definitely led by example tonight when he tied the game with his determination. Alex also threw three or four bone-jarring hits (he almost killed Brandon Dubinsky).
2. Neuvy? The Caps goaltender was near perfect tonight besides one defensive slip up. He made the big saves when he needed to and you never would’ve guessed it was his 1st playoff game.
3. Veterans? Scott Hannan played a big role in killing two penalties and was 2nd on the team in ice time. Jason Arnott doesn’t hesitate to impress. He assisted on Semin’s winning goal last night when he found him in the slot for a one timer.
4. Carlzner? You didn’t hear much about these two in the highlights. This is because they shut down the Rangers top offensive line and played extremely well all night.
5. Garbage goals? Uh yeah, did anyone see Ovi’s tying goal. Yes, it was a garbage goal that came right out of the book of Mike Knuble. Keep crashing that net boys!
So as you can see the Capitals touched on all five keys and will hopefully continue to throughout the series. One thing I think the Caps could improve on would be finishing. Yes Henrik played outstanding, but some chances should’ve been finished regardless. If they are going to continue to be successful they will have to take advantage of the opportunities they are given. I’m talking about the breakaways, two on ones, and shots between the circles. Other than that I cannot really complain about game one because it was thrilling and entertaining. I loved the physicality of all the Capitals players especially Nicklas Backstrom and Ovi. Everyone was throwing their body around which I think helped with the win.
Shout out to Mike Green on his first game back! It looked like he hasn’t missed a beat and played 26:30 last night. He also assisted on Ovechkin’s first goal. The Caps and Rangers will play game two on Friday at the Verizon Center. Support the Caps in any way that you can and as always Rock the Red!
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