The Capitals won 3-1.
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But the Capitals are not thinking about defeat and what it will feel like as they attempt to avoid panic mode.
Past year they led the Rangers 3-1 in Round 2, then lost three straight one-goal games, two in overtime. They aren’t going to go out quietly. “I liked our game”. The top two teams in the Western Conference finished the regular season separated by two points and they have played three games decided by a goal, including two in overtime. “You know, we don’t have anything to lose right now”.
“You’ve got to find the back of the net, be it Ovi or Osh or someone”, Trotz said Saturday morning.
Troy Brouwer and Paul Stastny also scored for the Blues. “I think it injects some new life into you, and that was what it was”. However, St. Louis is a better all-around team than the explosive Stars.
The Capitals celebrated a goal on Saturday night. It hasn’t lost two games in a row since January 12 and January 15 when it was beaten on the road by Carolina and Tampa Bay.
It was clear from the beginning that the Capitals were in the heads of Sullivan’s team.
Of course, they sang a different song in the Capitals room. And the Capitals survived on to a Game 6.
It’s such a legendary tale that Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz has heard all about it.
The game was stopped early in the third period because of blood on the ice in front of the Dallas bench, and yet there wasn’t a penalty until a few seconds after that when St. Louis’ David Backes was sent off for holding.
The Caps fended off elimination from the playoffs with the win, but the Penguins still hold a 3-2 advantage in the series. No, if the Stars have anything to blame for their impending elimination it’s their tepid power play (goalless again on Saturday) and poor coverage in their own zone that leaves their netminders out to dry in this series. Cole had been a big part of the Penguins’ success, leading their defensemen in short-handed time, but you can’t defend when you are in the box.
The Washington Capitals don’t need to be reminded that a team can rally from a 3-1 deficit to win a series – after all, they were on the wrong side of history previous year. “Some nights, you can make those saves”. “We have a good mix on the line”. Williams intercepted Dumoulin’s clearing attempt and fired a wrist shot that somehow dribbled through rookie goaltender Matt Murray’s legs.
“You’ve got to err on the side of enthusiasm not apprehension”, Williams said.
Murray thought he should have made the save on Williams’ shot. “One thing I’ve worked a lot on is getting rid of that cheat in some areas”. While they dropped a heartbreaking Game 4 in multiple overtimes, this appears to be a team that is not going to fold up because the Predators have shown off their feistiness. He was especially good late in the second period when he made consecutive terrific saves to rob Patric Hornqvist and Justin Schultz in close. They make timely saves.
Murray couldn’t quite match him.
Those performances raised Murray’s profile, and the pressure only increased once the Penguins deemed Fleury healthy enough to play after missing more than a month as he recovered from a concussion. “It was a clinching game and Justin just started chuckling when it was pretty tense”.
For Game 5, it might allow Trotz to get Ovechkin away from Sidney Crosby’s line. “He has been a stud back there for us”. Six penalties had them lamenting a missed opportunity.
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Lehtonen started and played splendidly in Game 1.
