by Marc Williams on May 2, 2012
In Game 1, the Washington Capitals held the New York Rangers to 14 shots. They blocked shots, withstood and early surge from the home team and hit four goal posts. In Game 2, they beat the Rangers at their game and won with a late Power Play goal from their captain.
Late in the third period after the Rangers tied the game on a Power Play tip-in by Captain Ryan Callahan, Brad Richards was called for holding and sent to the box. Richards was incensed by the call, but referee Stephen Walkom deemed it worthy of two minutes in the Sin Bin. It took Alexander Ovechkin four seconds to make the Rangers pay, taking a face-off win and wristing a screened shot past Henrik Lundqvist.
It’s always said that when the playoffs role around, your star players need to be your best players in order to move on. But usually, star players get plenty of ice time to shine.
That hasn’t been the case for Alexander Ovechkin.
For the third time in the past five games, Ovechkin played less than 17 minutes in a Stanley Cup playoff game for the Caps on Monday. In fact, Ovi played a career-low in the postseason of just 13:36 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Rangers. But the Caps captain made the most of it, netting what would be the game-winner in a 3-2 victory for Washington.
This is a preview of
Ovechkin Steps Up, Scores Game-Winner to Even Series with Rangers
.
Read the full post (521 words, 1 image, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)
by Marc Williams on April 28, 2012
Ever hear about something being the same, but different. Well, stop me if you’ve heard this before. Rangers and the Capitals meet in the playoffs. For a while, that wasn’t the case. In 2009, the teams met for the first time since 1994.
This is now their third meeting in the last four years. The players are the same (for the most part) and the locations will be the same…but there’s changes to the schedule as the roles are reversed. This time, the Rangers are the favorite and the Capitals are the gritty team that eeked out two overtime game-winners ousting the Stanley Cup Champion Bruins.
This is a preview of
New York Rangers v Washington Capitals Series Preview
.
Read the full post (993 words, 1 image, estimated 3:58 mins reading time)
Despite a furious third-period comeback, the Florida Panthers came up short in Game 7 of their opening-round matchup against the New Jersey Devils. Calder Trophy candidate Adam Henrique eliminated the Panthers with his game-winning goal in double-overtime, sending a dejected sellout crowd of 19,313 inside BankAtlantic Center to the exits, many of them with rat in hand as they commiserated over the gut-wrenching 3-2 loss.
This is a preview of
Rats! Florida Panthers’ Season Ends with 3-2 Double-OT Loss to Devils
.
Read the full post (443 words, 1 image, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)
by Rhiannon Volpe on April 27, 2012
The NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals playoff series have concluded with three game 7s on Wednesday and Thursday evening. Wednesday saw the Washington Capitals upset the higher seeded Boston Bruins in their own building in overtime. On Thursday, the New York Rangers found victory at home against the underdog Ottawa Senators. In addition, the New Jersey Devils upset the higher seeded Florida Panthers in double overtime.
Moving forward to round 2 of the playoffs, the Rangers will host the Capitals in a best of seven series. The Philadelphia Flyers will do the same for the Devils. The Flyers open the round 2 series hosting the Devils at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Sunday, April 29th in a matinee game.
by AJ Piplica on April 14, 2012
Florida Panthers fans – welcome back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Twelve years is a long time to be away from anything. The last time the Panthers had a playoffs logo painted on their ice, the world was a different place. The Playstation 2 was all the rage, no one knew who Dora the Explorer was, and we still had faith in Floridians’ ability to count. Oh, right, and Martin Brodeur backstopped his Devils team to a Stanley Cup championship, steam rolling over the Panthers in the first round. Brodeur, along with Patrick Elias and Petr Sykora are the only members of that team still with the Devils. I challenge you to name three players still with the Panthers from last season…
This is a preview of
Devils Up Early, Hold On for Game 1 Win and Brodeur’s 100th
.
Read the full post (751 words, 1 image, estimated 3:00 mins reading time)
by AJ Piplica on April 11, 2012
The day has finally arrived – the day fans of 16 NHL teams have waited for all year – the day fans of the other 16 have dreaded. Like myself, most Tampa Bay Lightning fans are members of the latter group, destined to a summer of yearning for leaves to turn and October to roll around again (leaves don’t really change in Tampa, I guess, but you get the metaphor). While the team’s effort over the last few games was commendable, and no one can argue with the Steven Stamkos’ class, we must move on to hockey devoid of Tesla coils and Dave Mishkin. So to soothe your need for dirty dekes, sick undressings, and wicked waffleboardings, don’t pass up what is sure to be a riveting post season.
This is a preview of
Second Season Beings – NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Preview Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
.
Read the full post (1686 words, 1 image, estimated 6:45 mins reading time)
April—a time for rebirth, The Masters and bold predictions.
With just two games remaining in the regular season for the Washington Capitals, veteran forward Brooks Laich fired off this shot when he appeared on Washington’s 106.7 The Fan sports radio (with “The Junkies”):
“We’re making the playoffs,” Laich predicted. “We’re not talking worst-case scenario. We’re making the playoffs….There’s probably games in October that you wish you had or November or whatever, but over the course of 82 games your team identity is gonna be revealed. And either you are or you aren’t a playoff team. There’s really no gray area.”
This is a preview of
Brooks Laich Channels Mark Messier; Guarantees a Capitals Playoff Berth
.
Read the full post (335 words, 1 image, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)
The 15,004 rabid Jets fans that packed the MTS Centre to the rafters last night tried their darnedest, but even all of their energy couldn’t help will their team to victory in a game they needed to have.
With their fans behind them, Winnipeg put up a valiant effort against the Ottawa Senators Monday night, but it was ultimately their sloppy play that led to a 6-4 loss.
“We chased the game,” said Jets coach Claude Noel after his team fell to 35-33-8. “We were forever chasing the game. We kept coming back … and eventually, there are some moments you could have taken some steps.”
This is a preview of
Jets’ Playoff Hopes Suffer Blow with Loss to Senators
.
Read the full post (280 words, 1 image, estimated 1:07 mins reading time)
by Simrin Purhar on March 27, 2012
The Tampa Bay Lightening accepted a win over the Philadelphia Flyers last night, helping to keep their winning streak alive. After winning their third straight, the Bolts recorded a much appreciated 2 points, putting them just 7 points behind a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Philadelphia Flyers played a strong, aggressive game, firing 38 shots on their opposition’s net minder. However, the Flyers determined attitude wasn’t enough to tamper the Bolts. Tampa Bay Lightning’s goaltender Dwayne Roloson was named the games first star – a well deserved title. The Ontario native stopped 38 of 41shots, leading his team to last night’s victory.
In Game 1, the Washington Capitals held the New York Rangers to 14 shots. They blocked shots, withstood and early surge from the home team and hit four goal posts. In Game 2, they beat the Rangers at their game and won with a late Power Play goal from their captain.
