Caps Take Game One in OT Thriller

The Caps waited 82 games – some beautiful and some needing to be permanently banished from memory –to get to tonight: Game One of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Tonight saw the sixth postseason series between the Rangers and Capitals, with Washington having won three of the first five series, owning an all-time 15-14 playoff record against New York. The two teams last met in the 2008-09 Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals, with Washington winning in seven games.


Michal Neuvirth shook off any rookie playoff jitters early in the first period when he did his best Mary Lou Retton imitation, going to the splits to stop a shot from Erik Christensen. Shortly after, the Blueshirts went shorthanded after being whistled for too many men. The Rangers displayed their shot blocking prowess by negating several of the quality shots taken by the warmly welcomed Mike Green (his first game back since suffering a concussion in February) and company during the power play. One of the things new hockey fans will note is the energy and physical play that goes along with playoff puck. Alex Ovechkin embodied the spirit of the playoffs with a tooth-rattling hit against Brandon Dubinsky in the first ten minutes – those two have a bit of a history and Dubinsky is like the annoying booger-eating kid at the sixth-grade lunch table.

The hitting ramped up significantly in the middle of the period and Mats Zucarello went a little overboard and went to the box for boarding at 10:13. The Caps’ power play was bolstered by the return of Mike Green but despite the boys’ best effort, King Henrik (with lots of help from his BFF – the goal post) ensured they stayed off the scoreboard. It was the Caps’ penalty killers’ turn to go to work in the final minutes of the period as Alex Semin put on his Bad Sasha mask (unbelievable – I know) and took a seat for one of his signature hooking moves. The boys kept the Rangers at bay and went into the dressing room with a 9-5 shots on goal advantage. End of First Period: Caps 0 – Rangers 0

The boys continued the pressure into the second period but struggled to hit the net, with Jason Arnott dinging yet another post and Nick Backstrom missing a wide-open net. Neuvy matched Lundqvist’s heroics by stopping sniper Marion Gaborik stone cold at around the 12:00 point. Marco Sturm, who had his share of shots on net in the first period, threw a couple more at Henrik in the middle stanza. Meanwhile, Nick Backstrom had one of the better chances of the night as he had a clean breakaway and deked out Lundqvist. This time it wasn’t the post, but Henrik’s goalie pads, that swiped the puck from within millimeters of crossing the red line. Both the Caps and the Rangers would need some frozen pea bags during the break after their second period shot blocking extravaganza. End of second period: Caps 0 – Rangers 0

The Rangers lit the lamp first at 1:56 in the final period as Matt Gilroy beat Michal Neuvirth with a slap shot. The Caps got the equalizer 12 minutes later on an ugly goal that was the source of much controversy. Ovechkin and posse were hacking and whacking in front of the crease and the captain managed to push the puck through Lundqvist’s pads, then the net came loose. The Rangers thought the ref blew the whistle prior to the puck crossing the line but after review, the call went in the Caps’ favor.

End of shaking and baking third period: Caps 1 – Rangers 1

As if we needed more drama between these two foes, Game One required extra minutes. I almost forgot how my sleep total goes down and Starbuck’s consumption goes up during playoff OT games – often times running into the wee hours of the morning. Neuvy had to make a quick save early in OT on the dangerous Artem Anisimov. Marco Sturm and Marcus Johannson had a splendid scoring chance a little less than five minutes into OT as they both turned on the afterburners speeding towards the Rangers crease. King Henrik had his work cut out with him as multiple Caps, including Jason Chimera, Ovi and Jeff Schultz, peppered his crease. On the other end, Gaborik thought he’d netted the game winner with six minutes left, but he was stonewalled by a sharp Neuvirth. Both teams battled hard, with Brian Boyle blocking a Carlson slap shot, into the waning minutes of overtime. The playoffs have not been historically kind to Alexander Semin, who has seemingly disappeared in playoffs past. But the Russian sniper has been solid of late, especially under the mentorship of confident vet Jason Arnott, and tonight Semin finally shook off the playoff demons that have plagued him in seasons past. Sasha blasted a rocket (with help from pal Arnott)  at 18:24 past a dog tired Marc Staal and beleaguered Lundvqist to win a thriller and take Game One!

Final Score: Caps 2 – Rangers 1

Capitals First Round Playoff Schedule

The moment we've been waiting for all season is finally here - the chance to undo all the bad memories from last year's abrupt first round playoff exit. As far as my own personal playoff preparations: Caps flags on car - check; nails freshly laquered in OPI 'Russian Red' - check; the boys' playoff beards started - check, well maybe not so much (but even at 15 years old, I bet they beat Sidney Crosby in a beard growing contest)!

And finally, first round playoff schedule entered into the smartphone - check. For those of you who haven't marked your own calendars yet, here's the schedule the NHL released last night:

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 7:30 p.m. NY Rangers at Washington (CSN) (VERSUS)

Friday, April 15, 2011 7:30 p.m. NY Rangers at Washington (CSN)

Sunday, April 17, 2011 3 p.m. Washington at NY Rangers (NBC)

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 7 p.m. Washington at NY Rangers (CSN)

*Saturday, April 23, 2011 3 p.m. NY Rangers at Washington (NBC)

*Monday, April 25, 2011 TBD Washington at NY Rangers (CSN)

*Wednesday, April 27, 2011 TBD NY Rangers at Washington (CSN)

The boys will practice today at 10:30 a.m.and tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at Kettler Capitals Iceplex.

In anticipation of the much anticipated first round, Hockey Mom was asked to join several other Caps media types in a playoff roundtable over at On Frozen Blog. Check it out here. The Sporting News' Craig Custance shares his thoughts on why he thinks the Caps will take the first round over the Rangers - makes for some good Monday morning reading!

For the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

The Washington Capitals will face the New York Rangers, after the Carolina Hurricanes were eliminated in a 6-2 rout by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hockey Mom is rocking the fresh, red pedicure and the Caps flags will go on the car first thing tomorrw. Stay tuned for the completed playoff sched but Game One will be this coming Wednesday or Thursday. Will this be the year?

And Then There Was One....

Regular season game left, that is. The Caps are headed to the sun and sands of South Florida for their final game prior to the start of the long-awaited post season. The Florida Panthers proved to be no match for the Capitals on Wednesday and with the probable return of Mike Green to the line up and the Cats' Stephen Weiss and Tomas Vokoun on the shelf, the boys should be able to win another one and head into the playoffs on a high note. Gabby is playing his cards close to his chest in terms of saying who will be sitting out to "rest" tomorrow night. Meanwhile, the playoff picture is still murky as teams are scrambling for the final spots in the East.

Here's how it stands right at this very minute:

7th Spot: Buffalo Sabres (92 pts)
8th Spot: New York Rangers (91 points)
9th Spot: Carolina Hurricanes (89 points)

The Rangers lost a stinker last night (3-0) to the non-playoff bound Atlanta Thrashers. They'll get a chance to rest a bit then face another non-playoff bound team, New Jersey, tomorrow. Buffalo meets the Flyers (who are having their own mini-meltdown as of late) tonight, then close the season out against Columbus. The Hurricanes are hoping for two regulation wins against their final opponents, Atlanta and Tampa Bay, to grab that last dance card.

Meanwhile, Vancouver Canucks fans are celebrating their President's Trophy win and #1 in the West seed by tossing...salmon. Yep, in a game that saw Ryan Kesler hit the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career with a hat trick, some over jubilant fan decided to chuck a rather large salmon onto the ice. Dude, I could use that on my grill!

Seriously? (s/t to Puck Daddy)

Caps Clinch Southeast Divsion Title and Another Milestone for Great Eight

Despite a spectacular performance by Toronto's net minder, James Reimer, the Capitals clinched their fourth consecutive Southeast Division title last night in a 3-2 shoot out win against the Leafs. You'll recall that the Division title looked to be clasped rather firmly in the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning when the Caps were struggling back in the dark days of December. Toronto came out hard against the visitors last evening, but our big, bad d-man John Erskine came out even harder, with some bone-crushing hits and a rare second period tally.

Much to the delight of Capitals fans, Alex Ovechkin seems to be peaking at exactly the right time. The Great Eight notched yet another milestone with his 300th career goal  - a power play sizzler in the first period. Reaching the 300 mark also signifies that Ovi has averaged around 50 goals over his first six seasons as a Capital. He's on fire as of late, accruing points in 17 of his last 20 appearances  - lighting the lamp 10 times and kicking in 16 assists during that time frame! 

Of course, the game winning goal came at the hands of the trusty veteran Mike Knuble, when Gabby decided to line up the shoot out roster according to age. Yes sir, those elder statesmen Knuble and Arnott are aging like fine wine - Knuble has 23 goals on the season and both have vast playoff experience (with Arnott having actually hoisted Lord Stanley's vessel).

The Caps return to a playoff-ready Phone Booth tonight to meet the Florida Panthers. Rumors are swirling that tonight's game may see the return of Mike Green to the lineup. The race to the playoffs continues and the boys now occupy the top spot as the Flyers continue their late season struggles, falling last night to 14th place Ottawa. Philly has only two games left (against the Sabres and Islanders) to make up a two point deficit.

Though we love to loathe this team, HM has to applaud the Penguins (take note as this happens maybe once in never) for their new initiative to test local youth hockey players for concussion symptoms. The issue of head injuries has come front and center with Mike Green, Sidney Crosby, Marc Savard and a host of other NHLers suffering with the results this season, so it's vital that youth players, parents and coaches are aware of the signs and symptoms of concussions - which can be especially debilitating to youngsters.

Monday Musings: Three Regular Season Games to Go

There are only three regular season games left, against Eastern Conference teams who don't have a chance in H-E-double-hockey-sticks of making this year's playoffs (Toronto and Florida). The Stanley Cup playoffs will commence on April 13, with the memory of last year's abrupt first round exodus front and center in the players' minds. We can only hope that we see the return of Tom Poti and Mike Green (after they've had a chance to shake off the rust of course) for the first round. But what we hope not to see once that playoff puck drops, is an opponent skating through multiple Caps players to light it up, as did Les Canadiens last year. It took awhile for we fans to get used to, but the boys have had success with the two-way game and with the exception of an ugly, learning curve, have tightened up the defensive play and boast the lowest number of goals against in their division (192). But as these last few games have proven, the Caps still have some tweaking to do - longtime Caps' scribe Taril El-Bashir breaks it down best. Thankfully, the old guys in the room Mike Knuble and Jason Arnott, are taking the lead in addressing the areas needing improvement.

Until the first faceoff against the lowly Leafs tomorrow, here are some miscellaneous Monday musings:

• On a very sad note, the hockey world sends condolences for the loss of Yale player Mandi Schwartz, who lost her long battle with leukemia yesterday, at the much too young age of 23.
• Another youngster battling the insidious disease, William Shannon, got a smile and a signed sweater from Sasha during Fan Appreciation Night. (stick tap to Kings of Leonsis).
• Alex Ovechkin has been on the celebrity circuit of late, first meeting the First Lady and most recently, the often jailed rap star Lil Wayne. In the words of my teens: That is SO chill.
• Caps get some coverage for being tops in the East from the Canadian press.

Caps Face Sabres with Depleted Blue Line

Jason Chimera had the last laugh against his old team last night with his overtime game-winning goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but the win came at the expense of another Capitals blueliner. John Erskine took part in a pretty pointless fight in the first period, then left the game due to injury. Erskine is now listed as day-to-day, not good news for an already overtasked defense corps. Despite getting the win and surpassing the 100 point mark, thoughts in the post-game locker room were with team mate Dennis Wideman. TSN's Bob McKenzie reported late yesterday that Wideman (who's been one of the ice time leaders and a much needed cog in the power play since Mike Green's been out) is in a D.C. hospital with a serious hematoma. The injury was a result of the brutal collision between Wideman and Tuomo Ruutu on Tuesday. HM joins her fellow fans in Capsland in wishing him a speedy recovery and keep our fingers crossed that he's back (along with Mike Green) for the playoffs.

Speaking of Mike Green, there is good news to report on that front. Green has been skating with the team and may take on a full practice as early as Monday. Meanwhile, the boys take on the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow (in what may turn out to be a first round playoff match) without Green, Wideman and possibly Erskine. The Sabres are without their star netminder, Ryan Miller, who has been bitten by the injury bug himself. A win tomorrow could propel the Caps to the top spot in the East, as the Flyers fell to the Devils in a 4-2 loss this evening. Overseeing tomorrow night's festivities for his final night wearing stripes will be veteran  NHL referee Bill McCreary. The site will be appropriate as McCreary began his four-decades-spanning NHL career by working a Capitals home game. McCreary’s debut as an NHL referee was on November 3, 1984, when the Caps hosted the New Jersey Devils at the Capital Centre in Landover, Md. Tomorrow night’s game will be the 1,737th of his accomplished career.

McCreary’s long list of accomplishments includes refereeing 15 Stanley Cup Final series (13 consecutive from 1994-2007), the 1991 and 1994 Canada Cups, the 1994 NHL All-Star Game (New York), and the Winter Olympics in 1998 (Nagano), 2002 (Salt Lake City) and 2010 (Vancouver) -- drawing the gold medal game assignment each time.

And as we count down the hours until tomorrow's 7 p.m. puck drop, I leave you with some fun stuff courtesy of some of favorite Caps peeps:

• Just one more reason to love the guys who represent this organization, get ready to break into a huge smile when you watch Semyon Varlamov minding the net against the adorable William. Thanks to Russian Machine Never Breaks, @rinkrebel and @itallfallsdwn.
• Ovi is truly the man about town, hanging out with DJ Pauly D and now, Michelle Obama. Thanks to Capitals Outsider.