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Washington Capitals Blogger •
Pens Draw Even with 5-3 Victory
Bruce Boudreau's body language at his press conference following his team's second consecutive defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins was anything but comfortable. Clearly upset by the Capitals performance, Boudreau's words were quick and to the point.
On Varlamov's performance tonight, the Caps coach described that "4 of the 5 were soft goals." Allowing a weak goal on a long shot to Ruslan Fedotenko and a short side goal to Max Talbot, it was clear that the rookie netminder was showing signs of fatigue having faced nearly double the amount of shots per game against the Penguins than compared to the Rangers.
When asked if he was upset with the goaltender's performance, Boudreau acknowledged that it was difficult to allow some of those goals, but that "the kid's not inhuman..it was his first bad game."
Despite all of the goals that both Boudreau and Varlamov could want back, the team has to be held accountable for allowing the Penguins to have so many scoring opportunities.
The reality of the Capitals 5-3 loss tonight was that they handed the Penguins a free pass right back into the series. Pittsburgh now has the momentum as the series shifts back to Verizon Center Saturday night at 7pm.
The Capitals got on the board first for the second straight game less when Nicklas Backstrom fired a shot past Marc-Andre Fleury less than 2 minutes into the game. Backstrom's tally would give Washington their only lead of the game as the Caps sat back on the 1-0 lead, allowing the Penguins to mount a come-back.
And comeback they did.
Pittsburgh scored 3 straight unanswered goals before the end of the first period as Gonchar, Crosby and Fedotenko would send the Pens into the 2nd with a lead they would never relinquish.
The Caps attempted to battle back in the 2nd period as Chris Clark brought the Caps within 1. Yet, forced to play catch-up hockey since early in the first began to take a toll as the Caps continued to take bad penalties and give up odd man rushes to the Penguins. "You're going to be put in those situations when you're pressing to get one," said Boudreau, admitting that his players were caught in bad situations due to the teams need to equal the score.
Although goals from Backstrom, Clark and Jurcina were all very welcome by the Caps, the lack of discipline and defensive coverage cost the Caps.
There was a noticeable absence of offense from Alex Ovechkin on the night as he only registered 2 shots, but he still made his mark when he collided with Sergei Gonchar in the 2nd period, connecting with the Penguins defenseman in a knee on knee collision that left the Penguins superstar blueliner injured on the ice.
"Ovechkin is a great player, but he can't score 3 goals a game," commented Boudreau, then asserted, when asked about Ovechkin's hit on Gonchar, that "he led with his shoulder. It was clearly a missed hit with the shoulder."
The response may have sounded more calous than was intended, but the reality was that Bruce Boudreau had bigger things to think about than what he thought of one particular hit. Even though that hit could easily result in a league review that could force Alexander Ovechkin to miss game 5.
Regardless of what the Capitals left-winger's intention was, the result was the loss of Pittsburgh's top blueliner. Gonchar, who missed most of the season due to surgery, had been a blessing to the Penguins lineup. The team's play improved drastically, going 18-6-4 with him in the lineup as opposed to the rest of the season without him, when they barely stayed above .500 with a record of 28-24-6.
Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma had a different approach to the Ovechkin on Gonchar hit, saying "it was kneecap on kneecap hit...the league will take care of things." Although it sounded as if Bylsma was skirting the issue slightly, he was right in giving his straight forward opinion, but going no further. The league will review the hit and decide if action is necessary. At points during the game it was mentioned that Gonchar was still listed as questionable as to whether or not he would return, but as of the end of the game all Bylsma would off was "...evalutaing where he is at, the doctor's are still evaluating him."
Blysma knew his team could play better, "we believed we could, we thought we could play better...when you play that way, you give yourself a chance to win games."
Now faced with 2 of the next 3 games in Washington, those beliefs may be tested without the services of their top defender. It is highly unlikely that Gonchar will make it back tomorrow, yet the same was said of Kris Letang when he left Game 2 with what appeared to be a serious shoulder injury. Letang rebounded, coming back in Game 3 to score the OT winner. Gonchar making a return may not be as easy a task as his injury was sustained to his knee.
If he cannot skate, he will not be able to play.
His loss will be a difficult one and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby knows it, "we've been without Gonch before, we'll just have to focus and keep playing the way we've been playing. We're used to playing without him, but theres nothing we can do so we have no choice."
Whatever the outcome is, Game 5 is less than 20 hours away and the series has reverted into a Best of Three.
The Capitals have much to work on if they intend to rebound from back to back losses, but this is not a far stretch for a Washington team that came back from a 3-1 series defecit in round 1.
It is interesting to note how heavily home ice has influenced who will win these games as no one has won a game on the road yet. With the road team going 0-4 thus far, it is starting to seem like the first team to win a game on the road will be the team to steal the series. Scoring first has also become a jinx of sorts as the team to get on the board first has lost all 4 games. Stats aside, the Capitals are going to need a much stronger effort in Game 5 if they expect to regain the lead. Washington has given up too much of it's own style of hockey in favor of chasing down a talented Penguins squad. The Caps must get back to their game-plan. Keeping things simple has been a difficult task the last 2 contests and as a result of being too cute with the puck Washington has stopped fighting to be first on the puck. Losing battles in the corners and pinching at wrong times have allowed the Penguins multiple odd man advantages, further attributing to Varlamov's fatigue.
With little rest available, the Capitals players can be comfortable in knowing that they are heading to home to a rink that has been kind to them all season long. Their fans will welcome them with open arms and will give them the extra energy they have been missing. It will then be up to the players to dig deep once again to collect their 7th win of the post-sesaon.
With an immediate need for amnesia, Alex Ovechkin had these words of advice for himself and his team-mates for Game 5, "...we just need to play simple!"
I will be back with Game 5 preview.
steven.hindle@hockeybuzz.com
capitalshockeybuzz@Live.ca
Go Caps!!!!!
Bruce Boudreau's body language at his press conference following his team's second consecutive defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins was anything but comfortable. Clearly upset by the Capitals performance, Boudreau's words were quick and to the point.
On Varlamov's performance tonight, the Caps coach described that "4 of the 5 were soft goals." Allowing a weak goal on a long shot to Ruslan Fedotenko and a short side goal to Max Talbot, it was clear that the rookie netminder was showing signs of fatigue having faced nearly double the amount of shots per game against the Penguins than compared to the Rangers.
When asked if he was upset with the goaltender's performance, Boudreau acknowledged that it was difficult to allow some of those goals, but that "the kid's not inhuman..it was his first bad game."
Despite all of the goals that both Boudreau and Varlamov could want back, the team has to be held accountable for allowing the Penguins to have so many scoring opportunities.
The reality of the Capitals 5-3 loss tonight was that they handed the Penguins a free pass right back into the series. Pittsburgh now has the momentum as the series shifts back to Verizon Center Saturday night at 7pm.
The Capitals got on the board first for the second straight game less when Nicklas Backstrom fired a shot past Marc-Andre Fleury less than 2 minutes into the game. Backstrom's tally would give Washington their only lead of the game as the Caps sat back on the 1-0 lead, allowing the Penguins to mount a come-back.
And comeback they did.
Pittsburgh scored 3 straight unanswered goals before the end of the first period as Gonchar, Crosby and Fedotenko would send the Pens into the 2nd with a lead they would never relinquish.
The Caps attempted to battle back in the 2nd period as Chris Clark brought the Caps within 1. Yet, forced to play catch-up hockey since early in the first began to take a toll as the Caps continued to take bad penalties and give up odd man rushes to the Penguins. "You're going to be put in those situations when you're pressing to get one," said Boudreau, admitting that his players were caught in bad situations due to the teams need to equal the score.
Although goals from Backstrom, Clark and Jurcina were all very welcome by the Caps, the lack of discipline and defensive coverage cost the Caps.
There was a noticeable absence of offense from Alex Ovechkin on the night as he only registered 2 shots, but he still made his mark when he collided with Sergei Gonchar in the 2nd period, connecting with the Penguins defenseman in a knee on knee collision that left the Penguins superstar blueliner injured on the ice.
"Ovechkin is a great player, but he can't score 3 goals a game," commented Boudreau, then asserted, when asked about Ovechkin's hit on Gonchar, that "he led with his shoulder. It was clearly a missed hit with the shoulder."
The response may have sounded more calous than was intended, but the reality was that Bruce Boudreau had bigger things to think about than what he thought of one particular hit. Even though that hit could easily result in a league review that could force Alexander Ovechkin to miss game 5.
Regardless of what the Capitals left-winger's intention was, the result was the loss of Pittsburgh's top blueliner. Gonchar, who missed most of the season due to surgery, had been a blessing to the Penguins lineup. The team's play improved drastically, going 18-6-4 with him in the lineup as opposed to the rest of the season without him, when they barely stayed above .500 with a record of 28-24-6.
Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma had a different approach to the Ovechkin on Gonchar hit, saying "it was kneecap on kneecap hit...the league will take care of things." Although it sounded as if Bylsma was skirting the issue slightly, he was right in giving his straight forward opinion, but going no further. The league will review the hit and decide if action is necessary. At points during the game it was mentioned that Gonchar was still listed as questionable as to whether or not he would return, but as of the end of the game all Bylsma would off was "...evalutaing where he is at, the doctor's are still evaluating him."
Blysma knew his team could play better, "we believed we could, we thought we could play better...when you play that way, you give yourself a chance to win games."
Now faced with 2 of the next 3 games in Washington, those beliefs may be tested without the services of their top defender. It is highly unlikely that Gonchar will make it back tomorrow, yet the same was said of Kris Letang when he left Game 2 with what appeared to be a serious shoulder injury. Letang rebounded, coming back in Game 3 to score the OT winner. Gonchar making a return may not be as easy a task as his injury was sustained to his knee.
If he cannot skate, he will not be able to play.
His loss will be a difficult one and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby knows it, "we've been without Gonch before, we'll just have to focus and keep playing the way we've been playing. We're used to playing without him, but theres nothing we can do so we have no choice."
Whatever the outcome is, Game 5 is less than 20 hours away and the series has reverted into a Best of Three.
The Capitals have much to work on if they intend to rebound from back to back losses, but this is not a far stretch for a Washington team that came back from a 3-1 series defecit in round 1.
It is interesting to note how heavily home ice has influenced who will win these games as no one has won a game on the road yet. With the road team going 0-4 thus far, it is starting to seem like the first team to win a game on the road will be the team to steal the series. Scoring first has also become a jinx of sorts as the team to get on the board first has lost all 4 games. Stats aside, the Capitals are going to need a much stronger effort in Game 5 if they expect to regain the lead. Washington has given up too much of it's own style of hockey in favor of chasing down a talented Penguins squad. The Caps must get back to their game-plan. Keeping things simple has been a difficult task the last 2 contests and as a result of being too cute with the puck Washington has stopped fighting to be first on the puck. Losing battles in the corners and pinching at wrong times have allowed the Penguins multiple odd man advantages, further attributing to Varlamov's fatigue.
With little rest available, the Capitals players can be comfortable in knowing that they are heading to home to a rink that has been kind to them all season long. Their fans will welcome them with open arms and will give them the extra energy they have been missing. It will then be up to the players to dig deep once again to collect their 7th win of the post-sesaon.
With an immediate need for amnesia, Alex Ovechkin had these words of advice for himself and his team-mates for Game 5, "...we just need to play simple!"
I will be back with Game 5 preview.
steven.hindle@hockeybuzz.com
capitalshockeybuzz@Live.ca
Go Caps!!!!!
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