When you crawl all the way back from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game, then you give up a goal in the last five minutes of the period to relinquish the lead once more, it’s an even steeper hill to climb to get back in the game.
The Caps paid that price tonight in dropping a strangely mesmerizing 7-4 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning, ending a 12-game winning streak against the Bolts. It was a game that had everything…
-- 11 goals on 72 shots – a .847 combined save percentage, which makes things look better than they were. Nine goals were scored on the first 41 shots (.781 SV).
-- All four goalies played. If Bruce Boudreau could have transported Jason Bacashihua from Hershey, he probably would have. It wasn’t as if either Michal Neuvirth (four goals on 15 shots) or Jose Theodore (three goals on 21 shots) had a night for the scrapbook.
-- But it wasn’t as if the Caps were giving their goalies much help. Tampa Bay was 4-for-7 on the power play for the evening, the first time the Caps have allowed four power play goals since Carolina converted four of seven in a 6-3-loss on February 23, 2008.
-- Tampa, who skated in four nights out of five before getting yesterday off, looked like the fresher, not to mention more motivated team. The Caps skated the first 20 minutes as if they just came from the pool.
-- Alex Ovechkin got about as close to a Gordie Howe hat trick without getting one as is possible. He had eight shot attempts (three shots on goal, no goals), two assists, and he got the gloves and helmet off to square off with Steve Downie before Underdo- uh, Matt Bradley swooped in to save the day and take one for the Captain.
-- Seven goals on 61 shot attempts would be a miserable save percentage (.885).
-- Brendan Morrison… 10:12 of ice time, and he had only four shifts in the third period. He did finish in plus territory though (plus-1)… not that it mattered.
-- Odd stat… 12 Caps took faceoffs tonight. Well, they spread something around, at least (well, other than manure).
-- The Martin St. Louis goal with 2:32 left in the second period after the Caps crawled back to tie was an absolute killer. It took the Lightning off the hook and sucked the air out of the Capitals’ bench.
-- Marc Joanette and Francois St. Laurent lost control of the game in the third period – 60 minutes in penalties were dished out in the third, 46 of them in fighting/roughing related fouls.
-- Talk about a rough night… Shaone Morrisonn was on the ice for every one of the Lightning goals. Mike Green was on for six of them.
-- Steven Stamkos had more power play shots (six) than any Cap had in total.
-- When Zenon Konopka gets almost 10 minutes of ice time and finishes a plus-1 (his second “plus” game since November 27th), you know it was a bad night for the Caps.
-- When someone named Brandon Bochenski has a three-point night (0-3-3) – his first since February 13, 2007, you know it was a bad night for the Caps.
-- Why did Tyler Sloan get more ice time (16:33) than Brian Pothier (16:17)? OK, yeah, they were paired, but there is still something not right about that.
-- The Peerless will be saying a rosary for the fast(er) recovery of Semyon Varlamov.
As far as the game film for this one is concerned, we have but one question….
“Anyone got a match?”
The Caps paid that price tonight in dropping a strangely mesmerizing 7-4 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning, ending a 12-game winning streak against the Bolts. It was a game that had everything…
-- 11 goals on 72 shots – a .847 combined save percentage, which makes things look better than they were. Nine goals were scored on the first 41 shots (.781 SV).
-- All four goalies played. If Bruce Boudreau could have transported Jason Bacashihua from Hershey, he probably would have. It wasn’t as if either Michal Neuvirth (four goals on 15 shots) or Jose Theodore (three goals on 21 shots) had a night for the scrapbook.
-- But it wasn’t as if the Caps were giving their goalies much help. Tampa Bay was 4-for-7 on the power play for the evening, the first time the Caps have allowed four power play goals since Carolina converted four of seven in a 6-3-loss on February 23, 2008.
-- Tampa, who skated in four nights out of five before getting yesterday off, looked like the fresher, not to mention more motivated team. The Caps skated the first 20 minutes as if they just came from the pool.
-- Alex Ovechkin got about as close to a Gordie Howe hat trick without getting one as is possible. He had eight shot attempts (three shots on goal, no goals), two assists, and he got the gloves and helmet off to square off with Steve Downie before Underdo- uh, Matt Bradley swooped in to save the day and take one for the Captain.
-- Seven goals on 61 shot attempts would be a miserable save percentage (.885).
-- Brendan Morrison… 10:12 of ice time, and he had only four shifts in the third period. He did finish in plus territory though (plus-1)… not that it mattered.
-- Odd stat… 12 Caps took faceoffs tonight. Well, they spread something around, at least (well, other than manure).
-- The Martin St. Louis goal with 2:32 left in the second period after the Caps crawled back to tie was an absolute killer. It took the Lightning off the hook and sucked the air out of the Capitals’ bench.
-- Marc Joanette and Francois St. Laurent lost control of the game in the third period – 60 minutes in penalties were dished out in the third, 46 of them in fighting/roughing related fouls.
-- Talk about a rough night… Shaone Morrisonn was on the ice for every one of the Lightning goals. Mike Green was on for six of them.
-- Steven Stamkos had more power play shots (six) than any Cap had in total.
-- When Zenon Konopka gets almost 10 minutes of ice time and finishes a plus-1 (his second “plus” game since November 27th), you know it was a bad night for the Caps.
-- When someone named Brandon Bochenski has a three-point night (0-3-3) – his first since February 13, 2007, you know it was a bad night for the Caps.
-- Why did Tyler Sloan get more ice time (16:33) than Brian Pothier (16:17)? OK, yeah, they were paired, but there is still something not right about that.
-- The Peerless will be saying a rosary for the fast(er) recovery of Semyon Varlamov.
As far as the game film for this one is concerned, we have but one question….
“Anyone got a match?”
How I long for the days where the team puts forth a performance worthy of these blog postings. Keep hope alive Peerless, you're our only hope.
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