Russian Rookie Erasing Goaltending Questions
Is Bruce Boudreau lookin' good right now, or what?
In what has to be considered the most out-landish move thus far in the post-season, Boudreau chose to go with his inexperienced young Russian netminder instead of returning to the team's purported number one goaltender, Jose Theodore.
It was a brash move, but to those in the know, it wasn't all that shocking.
Considering that in 27 appearances for the Caps AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, Varlamov compiled a record of 19-7-1, with a GAA of 2.40 and a save percentage of .918, it was not a far stretch to imagine the soon-to-be 21 year old being capable of handling the job with the big club.
Drafted 23rd overall in 2006, Varlamov(along with Michael Neuvrith) have been labelled as the Capitals goaltenders of the future.
If Varlamov is the Caps goaltender of the future, consider the future to be now.
It has only been 2 playoff games, but in his 120 minutes of post-season experience, Simeon has only allowed 1 goal on 54 shots.
Along with his strong performance in the blue paint, his ability to make timely saves in the last two games have slowly allowed this young Caps squad to regain their mojo.
Despite a meagre understanding of the English language, Varlamov has plenty of fellow Russians on the team to offer him the right encouragement, yet I would think that Bruce Boudreau's giant grin was enough to tell him that he's doing a great job.
Varlamov has erased the teeth grinding performance of Jose Theodore in Game 1 and has given Washington a breath of fresh life. Following their significant win over the Rangers in Game 3, the Caps will ride the emotional high of getting back into the series.
Varly is gettin it done, now for the Caps to regain control of the series.
Caps Cracking Lundqvist
The King of the Big Apple stole the show on Capitol Hill, but following his robbery in Washington, Henrik Lundqvist got a rude welcoming as the Caps returned the favor to the Rangers in a dominating 4-0 shutout.
New York coach John Tortorella spoke that his team didn't even show up. He was right.
After receiving incredible support in his own end in Games 1 and 2, Lundqvist found himself at the mercy of a Capitals offense that shifted gears.
The Caps adjusted their approach and began spreading around the control of the puck. Mainly away from making Ovechkin the constant point of focus. The move away from centering themselves around Alex the GR8 paid off in spades as the Rangers were completely caught off guard.
Boudreau changed his lines to spread around his offensive weapons, pairing Semin with the top duo of Backstrom and Ovechkin proved to be the key as the super-star studded first line cracked Lundqvist early and did not look back.
Scoring early and getting out to a lead pushed New York back on their heels and certainly appeared to phase them mentally.
Before the series I picked out 2 X-factors for both teams.
For the Rangers I chose Lundqvist and Avery.
Although the series is only 3 games old, the Rangers X-factors have proven to be exactly that.
Lundqvist has done all he can and more and if I were a Rangers fan I would not fault him for the Game 3 shallacking.
Avery, on the other hand, played disruptive, yet quality hockey in Washington only to succumb to the dark side of his brain in Manhatten, virtually giving the Capitals Game 3 thanks to his shenanigans. Despite only 1 of the Caps goals coming when Avery was in the box, it was Sean's 18 minutes of penalties that eventually eroded the Rangers confidence.
Caps fans know all too well what a back-breaking moment can feel like(see, Theodore, Jose; Game 1), yet Avery showed Rangers fans what incompetence can do to a team.
In all fairness to Avery, we know he is just trying his best to stir the pot and get his team back into things, but perhaps the wiring just isn't right. Punching Varlamov in the head, albeit a love tap, shows nothing but selfeshness on his behalf. Surely his team-mates were not impressed. Nor, I can imagine, was his coach.
Back to Henrik.
Washington enjoyed another game in the Rangers zone, only to finally see their hard work pay off. As one X factor was ruining things for the Rangers at the other end of the ice, Lundqvist was busy trying to do his best to keep his team in the game.
Henrik allowed 4 goals on 40 shots, while his team-mates were able to force the Caps players to miss another 13 shots as they blocked another 11. Together that is another 64 shot attempts on Lundqvist. Add that to the 170 shot attempts that the Capitals threw at him in Games 1 and 2 and you have the busiest player in the NHL's post-season.
Kudos to Henrik, but the reality is that the rest of the players on his team are just not on par with his abilities. Efforts aside, the Caps have had the advantage through all 3 games, yet have only just gotten back into the series thanks to Game 3.
The turn-around is happening and now it will be the Rangers who fight to keep the Caps and Varlamov out of their heads.
The Two-Way Player That Is Alex Ovechkin
Call it insanity or ingenuity, but Bruce Boudreau's moves to replace Jose Theodore with Simeon Varlamov and to mix up the top 2 lines have re-arranged the Capitals hopes for this first round series.
With the direction to move the puck around more and to use up more ice, Alex Ovechkin played a tremendously effective hockey game without scoring a goal. His 2 assists were timely, but his defensive plays were truly outstanding.
Not known for his defensive prowess, Ovi saved at least 2 goals last night.
Alex the GR8 has yet to catch fire, but with the amount of effort he is showing and his true desire to take his Caps to a Cup, expect alot more out of Ovechkin.
I will be back with my Game 4 Versus Preview later tonight.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Go Caps!!!!!
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»