After being screwed over by some bad luck and a hot Penguins goalie, the Washington Capitals will look to even the series tonight, at home, in Washington, at 8pm.
It kind of sucks to have lost the first game of the series, and not just because the Capitals were far and away the better team. Every time the Capitals lose a game, we are subjected to endless "is this a team of chokers" commentary.
As I tried to point out back in round one, if the Capitals had of lost to the Leafs that would have been an unfair storyline, since the Leafs were playing well - it wasn't that the Capitals were bad. And they could have easily lost to Toronto, as the series went to overtime in five games, where the winner is essentially decided by a coin-flip.
Having done nothing differently, the Capitals could be out already.
Having done nothing differently, they could be up 1-0 vs the Penguins.
Since hockey is a game of inches and a game were the team who plays the best often loses, the story lines about the Capitals not being able to get it done, or about them being chokers or whatever are so stupid.
The Capitals are the best team in the NHL. Have been for over two years. Winning the Stanley Cup takes an incredible amount of luck and the "best" team hardly ever wins. So, knowing that, we're just going to have to deal with these stupid narratives no matter what happens.
Regardless, the Capitals are going to be facing a huge amount of pressure tonight - partly due to these dumb narratives and partly because it really doesn't matter who is playing the best or who is the best - if you go down 2-0 you're highly unlikely to win.
According to Isabelle Khurshudyan, the Capitals beat writers for the Washington Post, the Capitals will make Brett Connolly a healthy scratch for tonight's game.
Connolly has been a victim of Tom Wilson's success and him being moved up in the lineup. Replacing Connolly will either be Paul Carey or a seventh D (Karl Alzner).
Personally, I think the Caps third line was great throughout the season and that coaches in the playoffs are too apt to tinker. Nothing wrong with moving Wilson up, I guess, but Connolly is a pretty effective player and I don't like how Trotz has been reducing his minutes.
I guess if he's only going to be playing seven minutes, you might as well try something else. I suspect will see Alzner, but I worry seven D throws off balance.
We'll see. Should be another exciting game. I mean, Pittsburgh vs Washington? How can you go wrong?
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»