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Game 4: Caps 3, Islanders 2 - Let There Be Life |
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Hello,
The Capitals avoided the sweep last night with a 3-2 regulation win over the Islanders. This was easily the Capitals best effort of the playoffs to date and while its exciting, I was left scratching my head wondering “where was this all series?!”
So how did the Caps stave off elimination? Let’s take a closer look:
1. Resilience – Let’s start with the bad. Brendan Dillon took a penalty in the first minute of the elimination game which was just silly. The Islanders out attempted the Capitals 15-1 in the first five minutes. Most importantly, the Capitals fell behind 0-2 on the scoreboard in the first ten minutes after getting mostly dominated all period. At this point, all signs pointed to a very lop-sided victory for the Islanders. Coach Reirden was forced to call a timeout in the first ten minutes of the game which you rarely seen in the NHL these days. The timeout proved to pay dividends as the Capitals finished the period on a stronger note but more importantly, they dominated the Islanders the rest of the game. In a series that has been all Islanders 5v5, it was the Capitals who dictated play the rest of the contest. For the game, the Caps held a 64-36 Corsi advantage over the Islanders. In the second period, shots were 15-7 in favor of the Caps with a 78 CF%. In the third period, the Caps were outshot 5-6 by the Islanders but still had a 67 CF%. Kudos to the Caps for not giving up after going down a quick 0-2 in the game. The Caps were not going out without a fight and I am proud of the way the team stepped up last night. If the Caps can repeat this effort for game five, they will have a chance to survive again.
2. Ovechkin – Man, was Ovi on a mission last night! The captain led by example and showed why he is still considered one of the best players in the league. People have been on Ovechkin this series for a so-called “disappearing act”. Sure, it hasn’t been his best series but it hasn’t been his worst by any means. Let’s not forget the Caps are playing one of the best defensive teams in the league AND their former coach in Barry Trotz. Yea, I am going to go out on a limb and say Barry Trotz picked up a few things during his time in DC…one of them being analyzing how teams try to defend Ovechkin. What works? What doesn’t? It is not a stretch to think Trotz has implemented some of that in the game plan for defending Ovechkin. For the series, Ovi is tied for second on the team for points with a 4-1-5 Stat line. He is averaging 1 point per game. For his career in the playoffs, Ovechkin has posted a 69-62-131 line in 135 game played. This is .97 points per game. He is right on pace for his career playoff averages. I will say of the four games played, Ovi has only had one bad game, game three. Although he was scoreless in game one, he still had his chances. With the third and fourth lines struggling to generate consistent chances, it will likely fall on Ovi and the top two lines to generate offense moving forward.
3. Holtby – Since struggling mightily during the first two games of the series, Holtby has tightened it up in the last two games. In his last two games, he has stopped 56 for 60 shots for a .933 SV%. The biggest issue I saw with Holtby early in the series is just the fact he was letting in soft goals and making mistakes handling the puck. If Holtby plays anywhere remotely close to competitive, the Capitals probably win game one 9 out of 10 times. Although he did let in a softy against Barzal on the second goal last night, he looked pretty sharp for the most part. If Holtby can continue this level of play that we have seen the last two games, the Caps will be in the game and will have a chance! No more soft goals, please!!
What do you give the Caps chances in game five? I am calling another 3-2 victory for DC.
Thanks for reading. Have a great day everyone!
Go Caps
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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