If the Capitals have a personification, it would be Arnold Schwartzenegger’s Terminatior. Every time you think you got them stopped, they get back up.
The Caps would win Game four after losing a Triple-Overtime game. Now, they get up after losing Game 5, where the Rangers tied the game with 6.6 seconds to go en route to the Game 5 win. The Caps passion was evident from the drop of the puck and the Rangers couldn’t match it.
The first period began like Game 4. The Caps came out strong and Jason Chimera drew a tripping call on Rangers Anton Stralman. The result was a Power Play where the Capitals showed off their puck movement and ended with an Alexander Ovechkin one-timer that beat Henrik Lundqvist on the glove side. The Rangers stars struggled to find their game right away, but the Callahan-Boyle-Anisimov line found their stride. Generating a couple of chances -even if one of them didn’t result in a shot. Anisimov strong play over-shadowed the giveaway that led to the Stralman trip.
The Caps extended their lead in the second period when John Carlson’s shot deflected off Niklas Backstrom’s skate, but fortunately to Jason Chimera with a wide open net to tuck the puck in. The Rangers received another four-minute double minor when Jeff Halpern high sticked Rangers John Mitchell. Unlike Game 5, the Rangers couldn’t capitalize and often got too pretty with their Power Play generating only two chances- one in close by Marian Gaborik.
After an uneventful Rangers Power Play, the Caps dropped back into their neutral zone trap and just let Holtby have an easy final twenty minutes- even with a late goal by Marian Gaborik to make it interesting. This game became somewhat similar to the final game of the season at Madison Square Garden, where the Rangers claimed to be desperate for a win that would have given the the league’s best record. Instead, it was the Capitals who came out strong and lost 4-1. Not to be lost, Henrik Lundqvist was outstanding in net- stopping several in tight shots. He kept the game close for the Rangers while the Capitals stymied their offense and the offense couldn’t find the net.
Now the attention turns back to Madison Square Garden, where the Rangers are 4-0 in their history while the Capitals have already won a Game 7 on the road in this post-season. Something has got to give and unfortunately Saturday night will be the end of the season for one of these two deserving teams. Then again, even the Terminator was destroyed…but still made a VERY bad last sequel.
{ 0 comments… add one now }