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Caps Vs. Habs | Game 3: The Most Important Game of the Series

April 19, 2010, 1:44 PM ET [ Comments]
Steven Hindle
Washington Capitals Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Round n’ Round we Go!


Ok, so this morning, I had some interesting info passed my way regarding who would be Bruce Boudreau’s choice of netminder for tonight’s Game 3 matchup against the Canadiens in Montreal.

That info was, of course, that Jose Theodore would be getting the surprise start tonight in Montreal.

Now, this was stuff I got early in the day and, quite obviously, opinions on who the starting goalie was to be, had not quite been settled yet. That said, it would now appear that Gabby(Bruce Boudreau) will indeed be sticking with Semyon Varlamov as his choice of keeper this evening.

This makes a lot of sense as the coach would be riding the hot hand into the game, but I have to wonder how much thought went into deciding who would start tonight’s game.

The fact is, Theo has worked his ass off for the Capitals this season and has shown a remarkable resurgence in his abilities. Yet, as had been expected all along, the true test of Jose’ goaltending skills would come in the playoffs, something that most Cap fans have been dreading.

And rightfully so.

After an excellent performance in Game 1, Jose had a lapse in the 1st period of Game 2 that immediately harkened back to his frighteningly unstable performances from last season’s Round 1 series against the New York Rangers.

So, Varly should start tonight, but I would not go as far as to guarantee that this is the last we have seen of Jose Theodore. Varly has been shaky since his injury, but, I will admit, has finally turned a corner since the Olympics in getting his game back.

The Russian rookie shows a lot of poise in the playoffs and seems to get very focused and psyched up for big games. This is great news for the team as they are obviously in search of some post-season stability between the pipes.

Goaltending carousel aside, everyone should know by now that the Washington Capitals are not going to succeed due to their strength in goal. That is but a minor aspect of the Capitals game.

Argue that goaltending is the be all, end all in the playoffs and I will have a hard time disagreeing, but every once in awhile, a team like the Capitals comes around and shows us that sometimes a strong offense is your best defense.

Boudreau will indeed be counting on that philosophy heading into tonight’s game as the only way either of his netminders will maintain any shred of their confidence will be with a strong performance from their team-mates.

Game Notes

Shining in the spotlight – Brooks Laich shined in Montreal during the regular season, recording his first career hat trick on Feb. 10 and adding an assist in the Nov. 28 game. Laich established career highs in points (53), goals (25), assists (34), power-play goals (12) and plus/minus (+16) in 78 games this season. He ended the regular season with 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in his last 19 games, but didn’t score in the first two playoff games. The 26-year-old Laich went scoreless in his first two games of last season first-round series against the Rangers before scoring a goal in the third game as the Caps earned a 4-0 win. He will be looking to spark the same magic in this Game 3.

Four, square –Nicklas Backstrom (3g-1a) and Alex Ovechkin (1g-3a) each had four points in Game 2 after Montreal had held two of the NHL’s four 100-point scorers in the regular season scoreless in Game 1. They scored four of the last five Capitals goals in the game and had a hand in each of the last five.
Ovechkin and Backstrom are two of nine active players averaging at least a point per game in their playoff careers (minimum 10 GP).

Most Playoff Points per Game, Active Players

1. Alex Ovechkin, 1.48 (34 pts/23 GP)
2. Sidney Crosby, 1.33 (68 pts/51 GP)
3. Evgeni Malkin, 1.27 (65 pts/51 GP)
4. Nicklas Backstrom, 1.13 (26 pts/23 GP)
5. Martin St. Louis, 1.07 (48 pts/45 GP)

Hats off –Nicklas Backstrom’s hat trick in Game 2 was his first as a professional. The NHL’s third-leading assist man in the last three seasons has 11 goals in 23 career playoff games (0.48); he averages 0.28 goals per game in his regular-season career. He has eight goals in eight games in April (regular season and playoffs).

Backstrom’s hat trick was the seventh in Capitals playoff history and, with Andrei Kostitsyn’s hat trick for Montreal, marked the fifth time that opposing players had hat tricks in the same playoff game. That hadn’t happened in 13 years before last season but has now happened in consecutive Capitals’ series.

Two Hat Tricks, Same Game, Opposing Players

4/14/83, Mark Messier (EDM, 4) and Paul Reinhart (CGY)
4/26/93, Al Iafrate (WSH) and Ray Ferraro (NYI, 4)
4/25/96, Trevor Linden (VAN) and Joe Sakic (COL)
5/4/09, Sidney Crosby (PIT) and Alex Ovechkin (WSH)
4/17/09, Nicklas Backstrom (WSH) and Andrei Kostitsyn (MTL)

Comebackers –Washington came back from a 4-1 deficit to win Game 2, the fourth time this season they have erased a three-goal deficit to win and the first time they have done so in the playoffs since April 17, 1996, at Pittsburgh. In addition to their three regular season comeback wins from three goals down, the Capitals erased five two-goal deficits to win.

Real American hero –Rookie defenseman John Carlson has points in each of his first two Stanley Cup playoff games, including the game-tying goal with 1:21 remaining in regulation in Game 2. Carlson has eight shots on goal and a +3 rating. He is pursuing his third championship in a calendar year –he won the Calder Cup with Hershey last season and the World Junior Championship with the U.S. in January (when he scored two goals, including the overtime winner, in the gold-medal game).

Face it –The Capitals have won 60.6% of the faceoffs through two games, led by Eric Belanger (first in the league at 80.6%).

Powerless –Dating back to the end of the regular season it’s been four games without a power-play goal for the Capitals (0-for-13), matching their longest drought of the regular season.



Fear of Losing Not Allowed


So there is a goalie debate once again.

What else is new.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter if your covering the Capitals or the Canadiens these days, if there is one thing that holds true in both markets, it’s the fact that these two teams simply cannot figure out who their true starting goaltender is.

For the Habs, it’s a far more important situation as their team game depends heavily on the strength of their goaltenders.

For the Capitals, it’s not quite the same deal.

Washington certainly needs strong goaltending, but they do not center their game plan around that fact.

Of course, this is meant as not disrespect to either team or coaches game system, yet it is the reality of the teams current make up. The different rosters force the two coaches to play two very different styles, yet, when we watch them play one another, it becomes interesting to note how similar they truly are.

Granter, both systems are geared up in different ways, but as we watch the Caps and Habs do battle in this first round series, I cannot help but notice that, for the most part, these two teams can skate with each other.

This one singular aspect to both of the teams game plans nearly counteracts the others perfectly.

Speed kills speed and what you have left is sheer determination and will to win separating the two clubs.

The Caps hold all of the statistical advantages, and many of the physical ones as well, but the Habs hold the stronger goaltending and more playoff experience.

Shift by shift, you can tell that these two clubs are simply trying to cancel each other out.

But, now that we have moved beyond the initial two game introduction of the playoffs, it’s going to come down to heart.

Who wants it more?

Because the Habs have inferior stats, does that mean that the Capitals should be discounting the chances of them being beaten and knocked out of this first round?

Never for one second.

If this team fails now, the collapse would be considered monumental.

With that in mind, it will be up to Boudreau and captain Alex Ovechkin to get the Caps back on track against this speedy bunch of hungry Habs.

Tonight’s game will be the first true sign of whether or not these Caps are ready to play desperate hockey right until the end of June or if the masses have truly underestimated this Bob Gainey built Canadiens club.

Lineups

Washington Capitals


Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble
Fleischmann-Belanger-Semin
Laich-Morrison-Fehr
Chimera-Steckel-Bradley

Schultz-Green
Poti-Carlson
Morrisonn-Corvo

*Varlamov
Theodore

- According to Tarik over at CapsInsider, it seems like Boudreau will be mixing up his lines abit in order to find more balanced chemistry and, perhaps most important of all, spark his 2nd line.
- As of now, I am unsure if Boudreau will be touching the defensive pairings. I am expecting that John Erskine will draw in at some point, but it doesn’t appear like the coach is ready to make that switch just yet.
- Finally, it does indeed seem that Semyon Varlamov will getting the call in nets tonight. I apologize for jumping the gun earlier, but sometimes you need to run with what you get.


I will be covering the game live tonight, likely posting updates on here as well as on Twitter.

Also, I have been in discussions with some of the guys over at HockeyIndependent.com and we have organized a live game blog for Game 4 with quite a few good bloggers and(hopefully) a special guest or two.


I will be back with more before game time.








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