Washington Capitals: The Cousins Sittin' On The Porch Looking Back at Game 4

The Washington Capitals wrestled home ice advantage back from the Toronto Maple Leafs in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series on Wednesday night with a 5-4 win in Game 4 in Toronto.  It sets up a contest on the battlefield that has been the strategic focal point throughout the postseason history of the Capitals franchise – Game 5.  Let’s see what the cousins have to say about the game just completed and the one looming on the near horizon.

Fearless… It was not as much the five goals the Caps scored against the Maple Leafs in Toronto last night, it was the “who” got them.  A first liner got two (T.J. Oshie), a promoted third liner got two (Tom Wilson), and of course, the primariest primary scorer of them all got one (Alex Ovechkin).  Ten different players shared in the points – six forwards (five goals, four assists), four defensemen (four assists).  And about those defensemen, four of the six had a point.  Matt Niskanen and John Carlson did not record a point, but Carlson was a plus-3 (best on the club).  It might have been the most balanced offensive effort of the series for the Caps.

Cheerless… Two games, two times the Caps scored two goals before the game was five minutes old.  Two two-goal leads.  In fact, the Caps have had five two-goal leads in the last two games – 2-0 and 3-1 in Game 3; 2-0, 3-1 (which became 4-1), and 5-3 in Game 4.  They lost Game 3 in overtime and escaped by the skin of their teeth from another overtime in Game 4.  Here is a number you might not want to look directly at…in the last two games, the Caps were out-shot in the third period by a combined 28-9.

*****

Cheerless… Alex Ovechkin had 16:31 in ice time in Game 4.  That was almost 90 seconds more than he had in Game 3 (15:08), but it is the first time in 88 career playoff games that Ovechkin skated consecutive games with less than 17 minutes of ice time.  And there he was in the third period last night, getting just seven shifts in the third period (none in the last 4:33) and 4:51 in ice time.  Is this the Caps being cautious to a fault in the third period, trying to hold onto a two-goal lead?  Would they be better served by trying to plant the dagger in the Maple Leafs?

Feerless… Caution hasn’t been all bad.  Only three teams have allowed fewer third period goals than the Caps (two), and it perhaps no coincidence that Nashville and St. Louis hold commanding leads in their series, while the third team – Anaheim – completed their sweep of Calgary on Wednesday night.  I’m frankly more concerned with those first and second periods, in which the Caps have allowed five goals in each, blunting the momentum they have established early.  No team has more first period goals than the Caps in this postseason (seven), but Toronto is sitting right there with the third-highest first period goal total (five).  When the Caps get a lead, they need to do a much better job of standing on Toronto’s collective throat and not letting them off the floor and back into the game.

*****

Feerless… One of the things that has perhaps not gotten enough attention is the contribution from the blueline in this series.  Six of the seven defensemen to dress so far for the Caps have points, three of them having recorded two points.  It might not sound like much, but in 12 games last postseason, the Caps had six of eight defensemen record points, but only three with at least two points.  And, if you look at the seven defensemen to have dressed, specifically the “seventh” slot, which has been split between Karl Alzner (no points in the first two games) and Nate Schmidt (a point in each of the last two games), the Caps are getting, at the moment, balanced contributions from the defense.

Cheerless… It says something that three defensemen have at least ten shots on goal in four games.  But among John Carlson (15 shots), Dmitry Orlov (10), and Kevin Shattenkirk (17), they have one goal.  Getting shots to the net is a good thing – it creates the chance for rebounds, at the very least.  And what’s up with Brooks Orpik and Shattenkirk?  Minus-5 and minus-4.  Hurt?  Let’s just hope it’s a slump.  It happens to defenders, too.

*****

Cheerless… Caps fans always seem to have a sense of doom about them.  This shows itself in different ways in different postseasons.  This year it’s “the Leafs are getting all the bounces!”  There is a perception that more than a usual share of Leafs’ goals are being scored by deflections or the fortuitous (like that word, cuz?) bounce that leaves a puck right at the feet of an Auston Matthews or a Tyler Bozak with an open net in front of them.

Fearless… One of comforts of Corsi as an indicator over time is that it reflects the climate of a series.  Sure, a team might get a lucky bounce, a gork, a dribbler with eyes (Cheerless…cuz, stop doing your Crash Davis thing), but over the longer haul, the team that plays better is the team that will have more success.  It’s like the difference between weather and climate.  You’ll have hot days and cold days, dry days and wet days.  That’s how the weather changes, but over time, the trend moves generally in one direction – climate change.  Same here.  Some days you get the bounce; others the other guy gets it.  You might even see a couple or three games in a row where the other guy gets all the breaks, and you can’t buy one.  But over time, the team that “plays” better does better.  And right now, through four games, the Caps are fifth in Corsi-for at 5-on-5 (51.33 percent).  Not that there isn’t room for improvement, since the Caps actually trail Toronto in adjusted Corsi-for, the Leafs seventh overall (50.73 percent) and the Caps tenth (49.27 percent).  If the Caps can press the advantage they have been securing early in games, they could finally break this team.

*****

Fearless… For all the unfortunate history of the Capitals in the postseason and the outsized importance of Game 5, this Caps team is in barely explored territory going into Game 5.  This is just the second time since the 2004-2005 lockout that the Caps will take the ice in Game 5 after tying a series at two games apiece with a win on the road.  They beat the New York Islanders in overtime of Game 4, 2-1, to tie their series, 2-2, before winning Game 5 by a 5-1 margin.  They went back to Long Island and lost Game 6, 3-1, but they prevailed in Game 7 on home ice in a 2-1 nail-biter to advance to the second round.  So, if you are looking for history to guide you here, there isn’t much to go on. 

Cheerless… Game 5 on home ice.  You’d think it matters.  Well, you wouldn’t be right.  You wouldn’t be wrong, either.  It just does not seem to matter all that much.  Since 2008, when the Caps returned to the playoffs for the first time since the 2004-2005 lockout, the Caps have hosted a Game 5 nine times.  They are 6-3 in those games.  OK, well did the wins in games lead to wins in series?  Not consistently.  In the six Games 5 that they won, the Caps went on to win the series three times, losing the series three times.  The odd thing is, they’ve alternated series wins and losses after Game 5 wins.  If they win Game 5 on Friday night, the arrow points this year to a series win after they lost their series against Pittsburgh in Game 6 last spring after winning Game 5.  As for the losses, the Caps lost two of the three series in which they suffered a Game 5 loss.  The exception was last season, when the Caps beat the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 in Philly after losing Game 5 on home ice.  If you are giving a lot of weight to the result of Game 5, win or lose, don’t.   

*****

Peerless… Through four games you have teams that are mirror images of one another.  One team has learned how to take advantage (the Caps) but hasn’t figured out a way to finish off their opponent decisively.  On the other hand, Toronto has allowed the Caps to do pretty much as they please early in games, especially the last two, but not so much that they can’t hang around and make the Caps nervous and dominate late. 

The series has become almost all about Washington at this point.  Can they win a decisive Game 5?  Can they close out the Leafs?  Can they actually make use of home-ice advantage?  They’ve faced similar questions in the recent past, and the answers have not been pleasant.  Consider Game 5 another chance for this team to prove that it is different – in a good way – from those Caps teams that preceded it.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 4: Washington Capitals 5 - Toronto Maple Leafs 4

The Washington Capitals looked to get out of a 2-to-1 deficit in games when they took the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Wednesday night.  It was as close as any of the other three games, but unlike those games, this one did not go to overtime, the Caps skating off with a 5-4 win to even the series at two games apiece.

The Caps, as they did in Game 3, opened the game with a pair of early goals.  With the game not three minutes old, the Caps had a faceoff in the Toronto end.  Nicklas Backstrom won the draw cleanly back to Nate Schmidt at the left point.  His shot snuck through but came to rest at the pads of goalie Frederik Andersen.  Backstrom darted in, getting inside position on Tyler Bozak, and slid the puck to T.J. Oshie circling out from the other side of the net.  Oshie pulled the puck to his forehand and snapped a shot into the net before Andersen could get across, giving the Caps a 1-0 lead 2:58 into the game.

Bozak took a penalty a minute later, and the Caps made the Leafs pay. Morgan Rielly tried to play the puck up the wall and out of the defensive zone, but he got it only as far as Kevin Shattenkirk at the right point.  Shattenkirk sent the puck across to Alex Ovechkin in the left wing circle, and Ovechkin made a direct call from his office, burying the puck past Andersen at 4:34 of the period to make it 2-0.

As the Caps have done too often in this series, though, they gave up momentum, this time in the form of a Zach Hyman goal just 42 seconds after Ovechkin’s, tipping a Jake Gardiner drive past goalie Braden Holtby.

The Caps regained their two-goal lead eight minutes later when Lars Eller stormed down the right wing, skated the puck down and around the back of the Toronto net, came out to the right of Andersen, turned and fired a shot that clipped Tom Wilson on the way through, eluding Andersen to make it 3-1 at the 13:41 mark.

Wilson scored again less than three minutes later when he accompanied Andre Burakovsky on a 2-on-1 in the Toronto zone.  Burakovsky’s pass was right on Wilson’s tape, and he wasted no time snapping a shot past Andersen’s glove to give the Caps a 4-1 lead going into the first intermission.

Toronto got the only goal of the second period, converting a power play chance early on.  Working the puck around the perimeter, the Maple Leafs finally got it to James van Riemsdyk in the right wing circle.  VAN Riemsdyk’S shot hit Dmitry Orlov’s skate as Orlov was sliding across to try to block the shot.  It altered the direction of the shot enough to elude Holtby on the near side, and it was 4-2 as the teams went off for the second intermission. 

In the third, the Caps had a Nate Schmidt goal washed out on a goaltender interference call, and the Maple Leafs took advantage of the break not long after.  A Connor Brown fed Matt Hunwick for a one timer that was stopped in front.  But Auston Matthews pounced on the rebound and sent it past Holtby;’s right pad to make it a 4-3 game 12 minutes into the period.

Just 59 seconds later, T.J. Oshie restored the Caps’ two goal lead for a third time.  With neither team able to control the puck at the Toronto blue line, Backstrom finally poked it ahead to Oshie behind the Maple Leaf defense. Oshie did not spare a moment in ripping a shot through Andersen’s pads to make it 5-3 at 12:59.

Toronto made things interesting in the last minute of regulation with Andersen pulled for an extra attacker.  William Nylander fed the puck down from the right point to Mitch Marner, who fired a shot on goal.  The puck did not get all the way through, but it did squeak off to the left to where Tyler Bozak was parked, and he stuffed it into the net with just 25.8 seconds left.  It was as close as the Maple Leafs would get, though, and the Caps skated off with a 5-4 win and a new series heading back to Washington.

Other stuff…

-- Tom Wilson had two goals in the first period.  His first career multi-goal period.  His first career multi-goal game playoff game.  His first multi-goal game of any kind in the NHL.

-- T.J. Oshie had a two-goal night, his second multi-goal game as a Capital in the postseason.  He became just the second Capital to record more than one playoff multi-goal game in the post-2005-2006 lockout era (Alex Ovechkin has five).

-- Braden Holtby has made a lot of big saves over the past several years for the Caps, but if the Caps do damage in this postseason, the “save” by Tom Wilson will be the stuff of legend.  Morgan Rielly looped in on the right side and wristed a shot at the net that slithered between Holtby’s pads.  From the other side of the play, Wilson circled behind Holtby and dove at the puck, knocking it off the line just as it was about to touch red paint…

…and that was Wilson in front to screen Frederik Andersen and get a piece of the Lars Eller shot going through to make it a 3-1 game.  If the game had been tied at the other end, we might be writing the pre-obituary to the Caps season tonight.

-- The Caps turned the tables on the Leafs in penalty killing in this game.  After Toronto killed a full, two-minute 5-on-3 power play on Monday, the Caps killed 1:56 of 5-on-3 power play time to end the second and open the third period with the Caps holding a two-goal lead.

-- Nicklas Backstrom had a two-assist night.  It was his 15^th career multi-point postseason game.

-- Toronto was charged with 29 giveaways and 38 turnovers overall, including Caps takeaways.

-- With Tom Wilson on the third line with Lars Eller and Andre Burakovsky, Brett Connolly joined Jay Beagle and Daniel Winnik on the fourth line.  As a group that trio had just one shot attempt (Beagle had a shot attempt blocked).  Connolly skated less than five minutes (none in the last 12:16), Winnik less than seven minutes, and it took two late defensive shifts in regulation to get him to that level.

-- The Caps won more than half the draws they took (32 of 6/52.5 percent), but in the last 2:59 of the game, Toronto won six of seven draws, four of them in the offensive zone.  The odd thing was that the Maple Leafs scored their fourth goal with less than half a minute left after losing their only draw in those last three minutes.

-- Kevin Shattenkirk skated just 12:54 for the defense.  That is a career low (by almost two full minutes) in 51 career postseason games.  He skated 14:43 in a 3-1 St. Louis Blues win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 5 – the series clincher for the Blues – in their 2012 opening round series.

-- This makes four times in his last five postseason games that Braden Holtby allowed four goals.  He had allowed four or more goals only six times in his first 45 career playoff appearances.

In the end…

The Caps won the shot attempts battle at 5-on-5 (52-45/53.61 percent) and outscored the Maple Leafs, 4-2, at fives.  But yet, the Leafs hung around and hung around.  The Caps, who have now allowed more goals than any other playoff team except the Columbus Blue Jackets, almost let the Leafs hang around long enough to force another overtime.  But there was that one instance when a Nate Schmidt goal was disallowed for goaltender interference.  It was, it appeared to these red-rocked eyes, a liberal interpretation of the term, “interference,” for this is what Rule 69.1 states, in part:

“This rule is based on the premise that an attacking player’s position, whether inside or outside the crease, should not, by itself, determine whether a goal should be allowed or disallowed. In other words, goals scored while attacking players are standing in the crease may, in appropriate circumstances be allowed. Goals should be disallowed only if:  (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal; or (2) an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goalkeeper, inside or outside of his goal crease. Incidental contact with a goalkeeper will be permitted, and resulting goals allowed, when such contact is initiated outside of the goal crease, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such contact.”

Did Nicklas Backstrom, by his positioning or contact, impair Frederik Andersen’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal?  That seems a hard case to make when: a) the Toronto defender “positioned” Backstrom in the blue paint by pushing him in, and b) Andersen initiated contact with Backstrom by wrapping his glove arm around Backstrom’s waist.  And, did Backstrom initiate intentional or deliberate contact with Andersen?  It is, again, hard to make the case when the video evidence suggests that Backstrom is being pushed in by the Toronto defender, and he is being impaired from backing out of the crease – i.e., to avoid contact with Andersen  -- by said defender.  Through these red-tinged eyes, the refs blew that call, and the official explanation is woefully thin on explanation. 

It mattered.  Had the goal been allowed, the Caps would have had a 5-2 lead with less than 12 minutes left in regulation.  Toronto scored less than four minutes later to complete the two-goal swing, avoiding a three-goal deficit and closing the gap to a single goal.  Thus are the thin margins on which games are won and lost in the playoffs.  Tonight, the Caps fought through that misfortune and scratched out a win in spite of it.  It was not pretty, but it was precisely the kind of win the Caps needed – hard fought, resolute.  Winning teams win those games at this time of year.

Washington Capitals: The Cousins Sittin' On The Porch Looking Back at Game 3

The Washington Capitals dropped their first round playoff series to the Toronto Blue Jays last night in a 4-3 overtime loss.  It was the…

Cheerless!... Step away from the keyboard.  It’s the Toronto Maple Leafs, not the “Blue Jays” – allegedly a baseball team – and the Caps only lost their second game of the series, not the clincher.

Now, what have we here?  Oh yeah… the Caps lost last night.  Tough one.  Gagged on a two-goal lead.  Another overtime.  What happened?  Where does the series go from here?  On what is “National Animal Cracker Day” in the United States, it’s all we can do to keep from going “animal crackers” with the way this team can confound its fans.  Let’s bring the cousins in for some insight…

Cheerless… Say what you want, but this series has the stink of my boots after cleaning fish on a July day.  In the “did you know” department, did you know that the Caps have yet to beat Blue Ja… uh, Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen in regulation time in his career?  Two wins and an overtime loss in three regular season decisions, and now two wins and an overtime loss in three postseason decisions.  The Caps better find a way to solve this guy in something less than 60 minutes, or we’re going to be breaking out the golf clubs a lot quicker than we thought.

Fearless… Solving Andersen has not been their problem.  His even strength save percentage is middle-of-the-pack in the playoffs so far (.942 – ninth among 17 goalies to dress so far), and only four goalies have allowed more even strength goals than he has (six).  The trouble is, the only goalie he has to outplay is the one at the other end of the ice.  In that sense, this is a two goalie ranking.  You’re either first or last.  And at the moment, Andersen is first, because Braden Holtby’s even strength save percentage is just .918, and he’s one of those four goalies to have allowed more even strength goals than Andersen (eight).  On the one hand, he has a respectable .925 save percentage in the even-strength portion of games.  On the other, he is .800 in three overtimes, and he now has a 7-11 win-loss record in overtime in his career.

*****

Fearless… Alex Ovechkin is rested.  He finished the regular season with nine straight games playing less than 20 minutes, and he’s been under 20 minutes in two of three games in this series.  The 15:08 he played on Monday night was the second-lowest ice time in the postseason of his career, surpassed only by the 13:36 he played in a 3-2 Caps win over the New York Rangers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2012.  He had the game-winning goal in that game.  Last night, the problem was penalties.  The Caps took four in the third period and faced three Toronto power plays (one carried over into overtime, the one on which they scored the game-winning goal).  So, Ovechkin skated only 4:13 in the third period.

Cheerless… Cuz, I’m not the best at arithmetic, but if I take 4:13 from 15:08 in total ice time, he still skated less than 11 minutes over the first two periods.  Can anyone explain that one?  Six forwards had more even strength ice time than Ovechkin (12:40), and Brett Connolly had almost as much (12:13).  At this time of year, you can’t say for certain that he’s not hurt.  Players hide injuries as best they can.  But if he’s not hurt, what’s with the ice time?

*****

Cheerless… The Caps have had their second period troubles this season, so scoring four goals and allowing four goals in the middle period over three games is not surprising.  But this is a team that owned the first and third periods this season.  But they have a minus-1 goal differential in the first period and a plus-1 in the third.  What’s worse, they struggle to get and maintain separation from this team.  They allowed the first goal in Games 1 and 2.  They seemed to get past that bugaboo last night with two early goals, but then they let Toronto back into the game.  They seem to treat the matter like it was one of those small-plate dinners…. “oh, two goals, that’s enough…we’re full.”  Guys, it’s a buffet!  Eat up! 

Fearless… The silver lining in those goals by period is that the Caps have not allowed a third period goal in any of the three games and outshooting the Leafs, 30-21 in the third periods of games.  That turned around a bit last night, when the Caps went the first 13:26 of the period in a tie game without a shot on goal, but on the other side they did hold the Leafs to nine shots in the period in a tie game, too.

*****

Fearless… If the Caps ever piece together more pieces of a complete effort, they can end this series successfully.  In Game 1, the Caps got a power play goal, a goal from a second-liner (both by Justin Williams), and an overtime winner from a fourth-liner (Tom Wilson).  Game 2 it was two power play goals (Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson) and one from a top-liner (Nicklas Backstrom).  In Game 3, it was the top line getting a pair (Backstrom, Ovechkin), and the second line getting one (Evgeny Kuznetsov).  What they haven’t done is piece more of it together in a game.  It’s been either this or that, not both this and that.

Cheerless… And it’s been “where the #@$% is the third line” in all three games.  No points in three games (Andre Burakovsky has a power play assist).  The off season solved this problem, or so we thought, because these guys – Burakovsky, Lars Eller, and Brett Connolly – have had a pretty good year together.  But the same things that killed the Caps against the Penguins last season – getting outdone in the bottom-six matchup, especially on the third line – is coming back again.  Hey, Corsi is nice.  Goals are better.

*****

Cheerless… Weird fact…Toronto is the 12th different franchise that the Caps have met in the postseason.  In the first meetings against the other 11 franchises, the Caps have a series record of 3-8.  Except for beating the Philadelphia Flyers in a best-of-five series back in 1984, a three-game sweep (to date the only Caps sweep in franchise playoff history), the only other series the Caps won against teams they faced for the first time in the playoffs were in 1998, when they beat the Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres on their way to their first and only Stanley Cup final.  Trouble is, the Caps were 2-1 after three games of both of those series, not 1-2.

Fearless… Except for that godforsaken west coast trip in March (and the Dallas Stars game that preceded it), the Caps haven’t lost three in a row since November.  If you are thinking they don’t have it in them to win three more games, this is a team that had nine winning streaks of three or more games this season.  Taking back control of this series is not some flight of fancy, of hoping they can do things heretofore unheard of this season. 

*****

Peerless… The Caps are perched on a knife blade.  You get the feeling that they haven’t yet put together a complete 60-minute game and/or have not had more than one element of their game working for any length of time.  When another gets going, the first one shuts down.  If they can consolidate their efforts and get more than one forward line working over 60 minutes and/or get their defense playing responsibly more consistently, they can still make the Leafs pay.

On the other hand, there will be all sort of happy talk about this team being different, that history doesn’t matter, that worry is something for the fans.  But this is also a team that in this era – since 2008, not going back to the dim past of Rod Langway and Mike Gartner – has advanced to the second round five times in nine seasons, but no farther.  That wall of history ahead between them and the next round is one they’ve spent time laying bricks to build, too.  The trick is going to be finding the sledgehammer to knock it down.  The only “must-win” game at this time of year is an elimination game, but Game 4 takes on the character of “seriously…if you want a decent chance to advance…”  Better find that sledgehammer quick.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 3: Toronto Maple Leafs 4 - Washington Capitals 3 (OT)

The Washington Capitals took to the road for the first time this postseason to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series at Air Canada Centre.  And, like the first two contests at Verizon Center, this one went to overtime.  There, the Leafs scored at the 1:37 mark on a power play to win, 4-3, and take a 2-1 lead in games in the series.

Washington opened the scoring in the game’s third minute with both clubs down a man.  With Justin Williams off for the Caps for holding Morgan Rielly, who was tagged with embellishing the play, Nicklas Backstrom put the Caps in front on the Caps’ first shot on goal.  Washington broke out of their end smartly with T.J. Oshie moving the puck to Nate Schmidt exiting the defensive zone.  Schmidt related the puck to Backstrom angling through the neutral zone.  Backstrom lifted a pass off the right wing wall to Schmidt darting down the wing, then headed to the net to take a return pass from Schmidt that he redirected past goalie Frederik Andersen at the 2:43 mark to make it 1-0.

Alex Ovechkin put the Caps up by a pair on the team’s second shot on goal two minutes later.  The Caps hemmed the Leafs in their own end and freed the puck in the right wing circle to T.J. Oshie.  From there, Oshie fed Backstrom, who relayed the puck across to Alex Ovechkin at the top of the left wing circle for a one-timer that beat Andersen at 4:40 to make it 2-0.

Late in the period, Toronto got one back on an odd play in a game that would become filled with them.  Auston Matthews backed off the Caps defense, carrying the puck down the middle over the Caps’ blue line.  His original shot was muffled and found its way off the face of defenseman Nate Schmidt, back onto the stick of Matthews, who tucked it past goalie Braden Holtby’s left pad to make it 2-1, 14:08 into the period.

Early in the second, the Caps restored their two goal lead.  The Caps broke out of their end, three abreast, Justin Williams feeding the puck up to Evgeny Kuznetsov in the neutral zone.  Kuznetsov skated the puck to the Toronto line and then eased it off to Marcus Johansson on his left.  Johansson curled behind Kuznetsov and fired a shot that Andersen stopped with his right pad, but the puck caromed right to Kuznetsov low in the left wing circle. Kuznetsov swept a shot behind Andersen before he could recover, and it was 3-1, 5:39 into the period. 

Then, the Caps relived the oft-quoted rule that the two-goal lead is the most dangerous in hockey.  Toronto closed within a goal on a second-chance shot by Nazem Kadri from the cheap seats.  His initial shot from just inside the blue line pinballed in front of Holtby and skittered to the right wing corner.  The Caps could not clear, and the puck made its way back to Kadri at the right point.  He circled out and floated a shot that eluded a clot of players in front and found the back of the net 15:13 into the period to make it 3-2.

Toronto made it all the way back in the last minute of the second period.  It was a simple case of dump and chase.  Zach Hyman dumped the puck in deep and went after it.  He got it to Matthews, who fed William Nylander open in front.  Nylander’s first shot was stopped, but the rebound came right back to him, and he had time and space to slide to his right and fire the puck past Holtby, who was still on the ice from the initial save.  Going to the second intermission, it was a new game at 3-3.

After 20 minutes of scoreless third period hockey, that was how regulation ended, with one notable exception.  Lars Eller took a high-sticking call with 16 seconds left in regulation to put Toronto on a power play to start the extra period.  With the power play winding down, Tyler Bozak converted a feed from Nazem Kadri from the low slot, beating Holtby past his left pad and sending the Maple Leaf faithful into a delirium with the 4-3 overtime win.

Other stuff…

-- The game could have turned mid-way through the second period when the Caps had a full two-minute 5-on-3 power play, followed up by a 5-on-4 man advantage less than a minute after their unsuccessful 5-on-3 expired.  They hit on one of those three power plays there, it’s a 4-1 game, and it might have gone in an entirely different direction.

-- Is there a line that has “played” better recently without much to show for it than the Caps’ third line?  The Lars Eller – Andre Burakovsky – Brett Connolly line has had good possession numbers, but they have not been able to convert much of that advantage into offensive numbers.  Tonight, no points, four shots on goal, six shot attempts.

-- In a 3-3 game, the Caps did not record their first shot on goal of the third period until the 13:26 mark.  In the last 22:36 of the game, the Caps managed four shots on goal.

-- This was the first time in Caps franchise history that they played overtime in each of their first three games of a series.  They are still short of the all-time high for overtime games played in a series.  In 2012, the Caps played four overtime games against the Boston Bruins, splitting the first two and the last two games of the series that the Caps won, in overtime, in Game 7.

-- Washington scored their first 4-on-4 goal of the season on Nicklas Backstrom’s goal to open the scoring.

-- The Caps took four penalties in the last 16:26 of regulation. That’s not shooting yourself in the foot, it’s taking a howitzer to it.

-- Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist for his 14^th career multi-point playoff game.  That ties Peter Bondra for fourth-most in franchise history.

-- T.J. Oshie had a pair of assists, giving him four multi-point games in the playoffs as a Capital.

-- In his last 12 appearances in the postseason, Braden Holtby is now 4-8, 2.26, .925, with one shutout.  However, he has allowed four goals in three of his last four appearances dating back to last spring against Pittsburgh. He is 1-3 in those games, all of the losses coming in overtime.

-- Toronto dominated the 5-on-5 game, outattempting the Caps, 54-38.  The shots at fives were equal (20 apiece), but Toronto outscored the Caps, 3-2, at 5-on-5 (numbers from Corsica.hockey).

In the end…

The Caps can win this series, without a doubt.  The trouble is that now, it would not be the way to bet.  In fact, it’s just hard to figure out just how to bet on this series.  Six times in the Rock the Red era, the Caps fell behind, 2-1, to open a series.  Three times they won (2009 against the New York Rangers, 2012 against the Boston Bruins, and 2015 against the New York Islanders); three times they lost (2008 against the Philadelphia Flyers, 2012 against the Rangers , and 2016 against the Pittsburgh Penguins). 

The Caps have yet to put together anything resembling a complete 60-minute, all hands on deck effort in this series.  If the Caps do not find a way to do that, and now against a team swelling in confidences, they will be one more load to toss on the slag heap of playoff history that haunts this franchise.  On the other hand, teams that win a Cup more often than not seem to have to beat back adversity in their journey, as often as not early in the tournament.  Consider the Caps now in that situation.

Washington Capitals: Don't Go Thinking This Series Is Close to Being Over

As the Washington Capitals head to Toronto to try and take back the advantage in their first-round playoff series, we managed to get a seat on the couch at this meeting of Caps fans.  It started as a sad affair, lamenting the fact that the Caps let home ice advantage slip away in Game 2.  But then, inspiration is sometimes found in the strangest and most unexpected of ways…

Marner....he's a dead man.  Gardiner...dead!  Nylander!!!!!....

Washington Capitals: The Cousins Sittin' On The Porch Looking Back at Game 2

The Washington Capitals and Easter.  Two things that have never co-existed easily.  There was the 1987 “Easter Epic,” the 3-2 Game 7, four-overtime loss to the New York Islanders that ended in the wee hours of Easter morning.  There was 2003, a 4-3 triple-overtime loss in a series clinching Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lightning that at least ended with the sun still in the sky to light the way home for disappointed fans.

Last night, the Caps and Easter met once more, and this time the catalyst for overtime disappointment was the Toronto Maple Leafs, who took a 4-3 double-overtime win.  OK, the game ended officially at 11:36 on Saturday night, not Easter morning, but the Easter baskets had already been laid out.  And speaking of which, perhaps we can pry Cheerless away from his chocolate bunnies long enough to join Fearless and me to talk about this game.  Cheerless?  CHEERLESS?!?!?

Cheerless… mmph, whut?  I’m drowning my sorrows in milk chocolate.  OK, OK.  In the first game, the top line was absent.  Managed just a power play assist from T.J. Oshie.  Second line got a couple of goals from Justin Williams (one on a power play) and an assist from Evgeny Kuznetsov.  Last night, the top line came alive with goals from Alex Ovechkin (power play) and Nicklas Backstrom, with an assist from Oshie on Ovechkin’s goal.  Meanwhile, the third line of Lars Eller, Andre Burakovsky, and Brett Connolly… one assist in two games (Burakovsky).  This was what was missing last spring against Pittsburgh, who had that HBK line or MSG or POS line or whatever they called it that was the difference.  This year, the Caps were supposed to have put together a third, threatening line.  And for a lot of the regular season, it was.  Two games…bupkis. 

Fearless…  You would like to think that if the Caps get to three, fans would celebrate in glee.  The Caps were 46-2-1 in the regular season when they scored three or more goals.  They were a perfect 24-0-0 on home ice when scoring three or more goals.  In two games so far, all getting to “three” has meant is overtime, which can be a crap shoot.  OK, so they only got to “three” with that overtime win in Game 1. 

*****

Fearless… You win the shot attempts, at 5-on-5, 91-76, and win the shots on goal, 40-37, you probably win more often than you lose.  But four total goals allowed?  At home?  Happened just four times in 41 home games all season.  The rarity of the event suggests it is not likely to happen again.

Cheerless… It’s not the four, it’s the three that got them to four, cuz.  It is not as if it was new to the Maple Leafs, not even on that sheet of ice.  Toronto scored four goals in the first 34 minutes of their January 3^rd game at Verizon Center and finished with five in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Caps.  Those five goals, in the Maple Leafs’ only visit to Verizon Center before the playoffs, were the most goals scored by an opponent on that sheet of ice all season.  Doesn’t seem they’re all that intimidated by the Caps and their record at home.

*****

Cheerless… That old problem sat back up and bit the boys in the bee-hind.  Too many penalties, too many shorthanded situations to skate off.  After allowing the Maple Leafs just one swig from the jug in Game 1, they let the Maple Leafs get their fill of five power plays in Game 2.  But again, here’s the thing.  The Caps were 8-0-0 in regular season games at home in which they allowed five or more power plays, including the 6-5 win over Toronto on January 3^rd in which they allowed the Maple Leafs six power plays.  But even if the Leafs don’t convert, it robs the Caps of getting ice time for valuable performers.  Alex Ovechkin skated just 2:57 in the first period in which the Leafs had the benefit of three power plays.  They didn’t score on any of them, but taking Ovechkin off the ice for all or part of the five minutes or so the Leafs spent on power plays in that period helped keep the Caps from generating much early momentum.

Feerless…  The Caps’ own power play performance was impressive.  They had five power play chances of their own, and the eight they have in two games is tied for third-most in the league.  They were 2-for-5 last night, bringing their two-game total to three goals in eight chances, their 37.5 percent conversion rate being best in the league.  Last night the Caps got power play goals from both units and had power play points from six different players.

*****

Feerless… Like Peerless is fond of saying, “it’s first to four, not first to one.”  A seven-game series sounds short, but there is a lot that gets packed into a seven-game series.  One of those things is injuries.  Toronto was already missing defenseman Nikita Zaitsev with what might be a concussion.  Last night they lost another defenseman, Roman Polak, with what looked like an ankle injury he sustained after catching a skate after being hit by Brooks Orpik.  The injury ends Polak’s season, and with Zaitsev’s status in this series uncertain, the Leafs, already with a young and untested in the playoffs blueline, got that much thinner.  One never wishes injury on another team, but it is what comes with a sport that features violent collisions and uncertain footing. 

Cheerless… A team can only play the team in front of it, injuries or not, and if the Caps are facing a thinner Toronto blue line, they have to do a better job of taking advantage of that situation.  Polak went out at the 13:55 mark of the second period.  Thirty seconds after that incident, Toronto scored, tying the game at 2-2.  The Caps managed just one goal in almost 58 minutes after Polak’s injury with the Leafs down to five defensemen.  Give the Maple Leafs credit for rallying to the situation.  But if the Leafs are missing both Zaitsev and Polak for some, most, or all of the rest of this series, the Caps have to do a better job of imposing their will on the defense the Leafs put on the ice.

*****

Cheerless… Thirteen times in Caps history the team split Games 1 and 2 at home.  Nine times, they lost the series.  Now, franchise history spanning more than 30 years in which these series took place doesn’t mean a lot in the here and now, but since 2008, the Caps are 1-3 in such series, and that matters a bit more.  Players and fans will, no doubt, have different memories.  Fans might be inclined to remember every wrong turn, every bad break, every iffy call, and every stroke of bad luck the team suffered in putting together that record.  The players?  Huh?...what series?  What are you talking about?

Fearless… The Caps have four wins in those 13 series they split Games 1 and 2 at home.  Two of them came in the first three series on their way to the Stanley Cup finals in 1998.  Not all roads are smooth and pothole-free.  Keep your hands on the wheel, and keep the car in “drive.”  Just move forward.

*****

Peerless… The Caps have never swept a best-of-seven series.  Ever.  Only three times have they dispatched a team in five games, none since 2011 when they beat the New York Rangers in that span of games.  The Caps don’t do short series.  This one offered the possibility of such a series, but the Maple Leafs are giving every indication of not knuckling under to the Caps’ depth and experience.  They seem disinclined to just thank the hockey gods for the experience of a postseason.  But the growing confidence of the Maple Leafs should be tempered with the realization that they will be challenged to shore up a defense depleted by injury.  It is an opportunity for the Caps, a challenge for the upstarts.  It is one of the subplots that might be the dominant story line heading into Game 3.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 2: Toronto Maple Leafs 4 - Washington Capitals 3 (2OT)

The Washington Capitals let one get away on Saturday night, losing a 4-3 double-overtime decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchup. The win evens the series at a game apiece as the teams head north to Toronto to resume their quest on Monday night. 

The Caps opened the game with a stifling defense that held the Maple Leafs without a shot on goal for the first 10:58 of the game.  Despite the early smothering by the Caps’ defense, though, Toronto opened the scoring late in the first period.  Tyler Bozak fended off Matt Niskanen long enough to feed Jake Gardiner the puck at the left point.  Gardiner worked the puck to the middle, then curled through the right wing faceoff circle.  As he tried to maneuver between the hash marks, the puck slid off his stick, off Jay Beagle’s skate, and onto the blade of James van Riemsdyk.  He curled the puck to his forehand and ripped a shot off the post to goalie Braden Holtby’s left and in to make it 1-0 at the 17:34 mark.

After killing off a penalty that carried over from the first frame, the Caps scored on a power play of their own less than four minutes into the second period.  Out of a tangle below the Toronto goal line to the left of goalie Frederik Andersen, the puck made its way to T.J. Oshie, who fired it out to Alex Ovechkin in the left wing circle.  With all four Maple Leafs tilting to the right side of the ice, Ovechkin picked his spot and found it in the back of the Toronto net to make it 1-1, 3:47 into the period.

Washington took the lead mid-way through the period on another power play.  With the second power play unit on the ice, Andre Burakovsky skated the puck into the zone, worked around a Toronto defender, and tried to feed Evgeny Kuznetsov cutting to the net.  The puck sailed into the right wing corner and rebounded to Justin Williams.  From the far edge of the right wing circle, Williams backhanded the puck to John Carlson at the right point.  With room to step up, Carlson did just that and blasted a slap shot that beat Andersen on the near side to make it 2-1, Caps, at the 11:06 mark.

Three minutes later, the Leafs tied it back up when Toronto worked the puck below the Caps’ goal line, allowing Kasperi Kapanen to set up in front.  Matt Martin’s pass found him at the top of the crease, and with a couple of whacks at the puck, Kapanen slid it through Holtby 14:25 into the period to make it 2-2.

Then with Dmitry Orlov off on a tripping call, the Leafs took the lead in the dying seconds of the period.  Working the puck around the perimeter on the right side, Mitch Marner got it to Morgan Rielly at the right point.  Rielly carried the puck to the middle looking for a better shooting angle. He found one, threading a shot through a maze of bodies in front of Holtby to make it 3-2 with just 13.1 seconds left in the period.

Toronto nursed the one-goal lead for the first 11 minutes of the third period, but in the 12^th minute the Caps applied steady, unremitting pressure in the Leafs’ zone and were rewarded for it after spending more than a minute in their end.  Dmitry Orlov flagged down an attempted clear by Gardiner off the glass at the left point.  He walked the puck back across the middle, and then he sent a shot to the Maple Leaf net that was muffled in front.  The puck caromed out to the right of Andersen, where Nicklas Backstrom pounced on it, firing the biscuit into the open side of the net behind Andersen to tie the game, 3-3, 12:39 into the period.

Neither team could find the tie-breaker in what remained of regulation time, and the teams went to overtime for the second time in two games.  But things did not end there.  After 20 minutes of scoreless extra time play, the teams went to a second overtime.  And there, in the game’s 92^nd minute, the Leafs ended it.  John Carlson lost his stick trying to separate a Leaf from the puck, and the loose biscuit made it to Brian Boyle.  As he skated behind the Caps’ net, he fed it out the back side to Kasperi Kapanen, who had nothing but an open net at which to shoot, and he did not miss, giving the Maple Leafs the 4-3 win 11:53 into the second overtime and sending the series to Toronto tied at a game apiece.

Other stuff…

-- The loss broke a three-game winning streak in overtime on home ice dating back to May 2013, when the Caps beat the New York Rangers, 2-1, on a Mike Ribeiro goal.

-- The 51 shots on goal for the Caps was the fourth-highest number they ever recorded on home ice in a postseason game.  All four were losses.  The others were a 61-shot effort in a 2-1 three-overtime series clinching loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 20, 2003; a 63-shot game in a four-overtime Game 4 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 24, 1996, and the mother of all frustration, a 75-shot performance in a four-overtime Game 7 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders on April 18, 1987.

-- Offensive zone faceoffs were a problem all night for the Caps.  They won just 18 of 43 draws in the Toronto end (41.9 percent).  They were even worse in the defensive end, percentage-wise (33.3 percent, winning 10 of 30 draws).  The plus-13 differential between offensive and defensive zone draws counts as an opportunity wasted, especially given that the Leafs were playing short a defenseman after the injury to Roman Polak in the second period, from which he did not return.

-- Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner each skated more than 40 minutes for Toronto, 40:12 and 40:42, respectively.

-- In a game that lasted almost 92 minutes, Alex Ovechkin skated just 24:35, sixth among forwards, both in total and in even strength ice time.

-- Only’s…Karl Alzner and Jay Beagle were the only Capitals without a shot on goal.  Beagle did not record a shot attempt (he was also an uncharacteristic 9-for-25/36.0 percent on draws).  Brett Connolly was the only Cap not credited with a hit. 

-- Matt Niskanen had ten credited hits to lead the team.  He had seven shot attempts, tying him with Dmitry Orlov and Kevin Shattenkirk for second-most on the club among defensemen.  John Carlson had nine shots on goal to lead the defensemen.

-- Alex Ovechkin’s goal was his 42^nd career postseason goal, tying him for fifth place among all players since 2007-2008, when he appeared in his first postseason.

-- It took him a second overtime to do it, but this was the first time Braden Holtby surrendered four goals on home ice in a playoff game since he allowed four goals on 28 shots in a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the 2015 Eastern Conference semifinals.

-- T.J. Oshie had a bit of a rough game.  He only managed to put one of his eight shot attempts on goal and lost six of seven draws.  He did have an assist, though, and five credited hits to go along with it.

In the end…

The Caps have let a lot of opportunities walk up to the door and knock over the years, without ever getting up to answer the door.  As opportunities go, this was not the worst of them that they let get away, but it was significant.  The best home team in the league, playing a young team down a veteran defenseman mid-way through regulation, let the Leafs off the hook.  There were a lot of near misses and almosts, but near misses and almosts litter the Caps’ playoff landscape like confetti after a ticker tape parade.  We’ll find out soon enough if this team really is different from their predecessors, or if they are just a different model of the same make of car.  In that sense, going on the road is not really a bad thing, home-ice advantage in the NHL being probably the least reliable home advantage of the major team sports.  But the Caps can’t let the Maple Leafs skate with the sort of confidence a game like this can provide.  They have to take it from the Leafs and stand on their throats, characteristics that would be different from a lot of their predecessors at this time of year.

Washington Capitals: The Cousins Sittin' On The Porch Looking Back at Game 1

The Washington Capitals took a 1-0 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, thanks to an overtime game-winner from Tom Wilson.  Unconventionally achieved, it was hardly an unconventional result for this franchise in Games 1 of the postseason.   But we get ahead of ourselves.  The cousins have their own unique takes on what happened and what we might look at going forward in this series.

Cheerless… Tom Wilson’s game-winning goal was the first goal of any kind for him in his postseason career in his 29 career playoff game.  It was only his second game-winning goal in 342 career regular and postseason games.  It was his first career overtime game-winning goal in any NHL season, regular or post.  Not bad for a guy Mike Babcock wasn’t concerned about.

Fearless… Now hold on.  Wilson getting that goal was a fine way to end an evening that could have gone a lot differently, and there is something to be said about the value of bulletin board material, even when you have to embellish things to make it “bulletin boardable.”  They say Michael Jordan did it all the time, to work up a healthy seething over his opponent.  But let’s look at what Babcock said in full…

“Nothing against (Wilson), because he works hard and all that, but he’s not as big of concern as a lot of people on their team. He’s a forechecker and he works hard, I think their fourth line has been real good for them. In saying that, they’ve got a lot of players that we’ll concern ourselves with more.”

Babcock said Wilson works hard, he’s a forechecker, the line he plays on is a good one for the Caps.  But there are players with whom he has more concern.  And what is false about any of that?  Yes, the Caps fourth line might be very good, perhaps (as Pierre McGuire alluded last night) the best fourth line in hockey.  But no one game plans for Tom Wilson (or Jay Beagle or Daniel Winnik or even a Lars Eller or a Marcus Johansson, for that matter).

*****

Fearless…  All in all, Wilson getting that goal might have been an unexpected denouement, but it was certainly consistent with the way the game unfolded after the first ten minutes.  The Caps were the better team in the last 55 minutes of the game, and this bodes well going forward.

Cheerless… Now, I might be dumb as a sack of rocks, but even I know that we’ve seen this cartoon before.  We don’t even have to go back to when Craig Laughlin played to see what we’re talkin’ about, either.  Since 2007-2008, the Caps have won six times in Game 1 of a series on home ice.  Four times, they lost the series.  Is this team different?  Well, they’d better be.

*****

Cheerless… The Caps had 44 shots on goal last night, and Alex Ovechkin had one of them.  The Caps seem to have dodged a bullet with that one, with Ovechkin being a non-factor on offense.

Fearless… That was the 12^th time in Ovechkin’s postseason career that he recorded one or no shots on goal in a game.  The Caps are 4-8 in those games, four of the losses coming in overtime.  But here’s the thing.  The Caps have now won the last three instances in which Ovechkin was held to one or no shots.  Maybe the team is more balanced than it has been in the early days of his playoff career.

*****

Fearless… Braden Holtby shook off a shaky start, one in which the defense in front of him might have been a bit tighter, and had a solid game.  Even with the two goals in the first ten minutes, he stopped 35 of 37 shots, the last 26 in succession.  That won’t be good news for the Leafs.

Cheerless… Allowing 35 or more shots on goal is something of a crap shoot with the Caps and Holtby in particular.  Last night was the 17^th time in his postseason career that Holtby faced 35 or more shots in a game.  His record is now 8-9 in those games.  Six of those losses have come in overtime (not surprising, as shot values go up as time goes by).

*****

Cheerless… I would not have expected veterans – either players or coaches – to be making comments like this after the game…

“Maybe we was a little bit nervous, maybe kind of feel the pressure a little bit.” (Alex Ovechkin)

“We have to be better.  Otherwise a team like this is going to take advantage of it.” (Nicklas Backstrom)

“A really good wake-up call for us.” (Barry Trotz)

Nervous? A wake-up call?  This isn’t the first barn dance for these guys.  Yeah, it’s not playing the Devils on a Tuesday night in January, so some level of nervousness is to be expected.  But where on the scale between “jitters” and “paralyzing stage fright” did this sit?  And who needs a wake-up call in April?  More to the point, what team that can be well thought-of as being a real contender to go deep in a playoff needs a wake-up call?  These are not the kind of Game 1 comments that are going to give Caps Nation a warm and cozy feeling.

Fearless… Well, maybe this comment will make you – and Caps Nation – feel a bit better…

“There was no panic.  The first 10 minutes we don’t have the structure we want, we don’t have the start we want, and they used that. After that, I think, we just do the same thing over and over, and it worked.”

Seems to me the Captain said it best.

*****

Peerless… In Game 1, the difference between the youthful, if unchanneled exuberance of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the jittery, if not panicky early performance of the Washington Capitals was Justin Williams.  He is a pro’s pro and was one of the few Caps who started the game with a suitable level of intensity and, just as important, maintained it throughout.  His two goals came from hard parts of the ice…low slot/top of the crease, and kept the Caps in the game when it could have slipped away from them.  You have to want it at this time of year, and Williams has been doing that his whole career.  This is the template on which the team must build, replicating Williams’ steely resolve about knowing what needs to be done at this time of year and doing it.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 1: Washington Capitals 3 - Toronto Maple Leafs 2 (OT)

Fans of the Washington Capitals might not have expected the Toronto Maple Leafs to be a particularly formidable first-round playoff opponent, but at least for Game 1, they gave the Caps all they could handle.  The Leafs got out to a two-goal lead before the game was ten minutes old, but the Caps clawed back to tie it, then they won it on a goal from a most unexpected source in overtime to take Game 1 of their series, 3-2.

Toronto scored the first goal of the series on a broken play. Tyler Bozak took a pass from Mitch Marner and skated the puck into the right wing faceoff circle.  From there he fed the puck across to James van Riemsdyk, whose one-timer was blocked into the corner by goalie Braden Holtby.  Van Riemsdyk managed to get the puck back in front between the hash marks where Marner had circled in, and Marner flipped the puck past Holtby’s left skate as he was tumbling to the ice to make it 1-0 just 1:35 into the game.

The Maple Leafs added to their lead eight minutes later.  Jake Gardiner took a loose puck in the left wing circle, backed off into a better shooting position, and using Nazem Kadri as a screen slid the puck through on the open side as Holtby was trying to peek around Kadri on the other side to find the shooter.  The goal was initially waved off for goaltender interference by Kadri, but upon video review it was reinstated.

Washington halved the lead less than three minutes later on a power play.  With two Leafs in the box,  Kevin Shattenkirk and Nicklas Backstrom played catch with the puck on the right side.  Shattenkirk tried to one-time a feed from Backstrom to the net, but his stick broke, and the puck slid off to the left, off a Leaf skate and to T.J. Oshie at the bottom of the wing circle.  Oshie feathered a pass to the low slot, and Justin Williams redirected it past the left pad of goalie Frederik Andersen to make it a 2-1 game 12:24 into the period.

In the second frame, the Caps spent much of the first 16 minutes putting some Caps fans to sleep and inspiring other to express displeasure at what looked like their indifferent play.  But with four minutes left in the period the Caps drew even.  Evgeny Kuznetsov got the play started, skating down the right wing into the Leafs’ end, putting on the brakes, and feeding the puck across to Matt Niskanen entering the zone for a one-timer.  His shot was stopped by Anderson, but not cleanly.  With the puck lying between his pads and unable to find it, Anderson was helpless against Williams darting down the slot and poking the puck the rest of the way over the goal line to make it a 2-2 game.

Entering the third period, you would have thought the Caps would have a significant advantage.  They finished the regular season plus-30 in goal differential in the regular season, while Toronto was minus-10.  So much for that.  The teams played to a scoreless third period, leaving it to overtime, and that is when this happened… 

Game 1 goes to the Caps.  Strap yourselves in folks.  This could be interesting.

Other stuff…

1.  Wilson just made a solid, basic, simple play in the end.  He covered the wall to keep the Leafs from chipping the puck out.  He settled it, and most important, he put the puck on net.  If seems self-evident, but too often, a player might look to pass in that situation.  Wilson got it through, and Frederik Anderson, who had an otherwise superb game, seem to go to his knees a bit early, leaving the top near corner open.  And say what you will, that Wilson wouldn’t hit that target against an open net once in 20 tries, he did it here…because he shot the damn puck.  Oh, and it was Wilson’s first career playoff goal.  Not a bad way to get it.

2.  It was not that Braden Holtby was not sharp early.  He was a bit of a victim on the first goal, and he probably would like to have the Leafs’ second goal back.  But despite the fact that his teammates allowed Maple Leafs to set up a little too freely in front, he grew sharper as the game went on.  Late, he might have been the best Capital on the ice.  He stopped the last 26 shots he faced.

3.  Every Maple Leaf but Morgan Rielly had a shot on goal, but the distribution might not have been quite what Toronto wanted.  Auston Matthews had just one, none in the last 51 minutes, including overtime. 

4.  The same might be said for the Caps.  They had 44 shots on goal, but Alex Ovechkin had just one of them, none in the last 53 minutes, including overtime.

5.  Kevin Shattenkirk had nine shots on goal.  That ties Kevin Hatcher’s nine shots on goal in a 7-1 win over the New York Rangers in Game 3 of their Patrick Division final in 1990 for third-most shots on goal by a defenseman in a postseason game for the Caps.

6.  Think this is the playoffs?  The teams combined for 99 hits.  Toronto, allegedly the smaller club, managed to record 47 credited hits of their own.  But half of the hits recorded by Toronto came from three players – Matt Martin (10), Leo Komarov (8), and Roman Polak (6).  For the Caps, every skater except Nicklas Backstrom was credited with at least one of the 52 hits the club had.  Matt Niskanen led them with seven.

7.  Dmitry Orlov did not have a point, but he had a solid game.  Four shots on goal, eight shot attempts, four hits, two takeaways, and three blocked shots in 25:22 (tops in ice time for the Caps).

8.  Evgeny Kuznetsov had the best night, percentage-wise, in the faceoff circle, going 8-for-10.  Can’t say that’s happened often this season.  He also showed a creativity that was not rewarded much in this game (he did have an assist), but he could be a big factor as this series goes on.

9.  Lars Eller had a brutal game… no shot attempts, a penalty, and he lost eight of 14 draws he took in 11:39.

10.  Getting three goals matters.  This was the 20^th time in the Rock the Red era that the Caps scored three or more goals in a playoff game on home ice.  They are now 15-3-2 in those games.

In the end…

It would be fair to say that this was one of the worst games the Caps played in the 2017 portion of this season.  Barry Trotz said in the post-game press conference that he was not happy with the first 30 minutes.  But he also pointed out that there was no panic, and he was happy to see that.  And that brings us to the “glass-half-full” interpretation of this game.  The Caps played poorly for 30 minutes, faced a team that came out hard early, and squeaked out a win.  And win is the only meaningful metric at this time of year.  The Caps certainly can play better…a lot better.  The Maple Leafs might wonder if they have that next gear in them.  It will make the first ten minutes or so of Game 2 an interesting thing to watch.

Washington Capitals -- Ten HUT!

Now, I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a hockey game by taking a hit for his team. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard take a hit for his team. Men, all this stuff you’ve heard about the Caps not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the contest, is a lot of horse dung. Caps traditionally love to fight. All real Caps love the sting of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big league ball player, the toughest boxer. Caps fans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Caps play to win all the time. I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost...and laughed. That’s why this spring Caps have never lost and will never lose a playoff series.  Because the very thought of losing is hateful to Capitals.

Now... a hockey club is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, checks as a team. This individuality stuff is a bunch of crap. The bilious bastards who wrote that stuff about individuality for NHL Network don’t know anything more about real hockey games than they do about fornicating.

We have the finest food and equipment, the best spirit and the best men in the world. You know, by God I actually pity those poor bastards we’re going up against. By God, I do. We’re not just going to check the bastards, we’re going to cut out their living guts and use them to tape the blades of our sticks. We’re going to hit those lousy Maple Leaf bastards by the bushel.

Now, some of you boys, I know, are wondering whether or not you'll chicken out under fire. Don't worry about it. I can assure you that you will all do your duty. The Maple Leafs are the enemy. Wade into them. Spill their blood. Check them into the boards. When you put your hand into a bunch of goo that a moment before was your best friend's face...you'll know what to do.

Now there’s another thing I want you to remember. I don’t want to get any messages saying that we are holding our position. We’re not holding anything. Let Toronto do that. We are advancing constantly, and we’re not interested in holding onto anything except the enemy. We're going to hold onto him by the nose, and we're going to kick him in the ass. We're going to kick the hell out of him all the time, and we're gonna go through him like crap through a goose.

There’s one thing that you men will be able to say when you get back home. And you may thank God for it. Thirty years from now when you’re sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks you, "what did you do in the great National Hockey League," you won’t have to say, "Well, I shoveled shit in DC."

Alright now, you sons-of-bitches, you know how I feel. Oh...and I will be proud to lead you wonderful guys into battle – anytime, anywhere.