Game 3 is on Monday night in Pittsburgh. Fleury was up to the challenge stopping 70 of 72 shots in the first two games of the series, pushing Pittsburgh to a 2-0 series lead.
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Does it feel like we’ve seen this fish before? This is just the second time in the nine times they’ve played each other in the postseason that the Caps didn’t win Game 1.
“Listen, Washington’s a real good hockey team”.
Maybe the Penguins should have taken a page out of the Ottawa Senators’ book when it comes to making the officials recognize there’s too many men on the ice. And we all know how the Caps handle pressure. I think they’re just driven athletes.
Lundqvist had a 1.70 goals-against average and a.947 save percentage in the first round against Montreal. Most of the time, when a trend shows up in Game 1, it tends to loom over the series.
“We had to change sort of the mojo in that situation”, Capitals coach Barry Trotz said when asked about pulling Holtby. “There’s little ticks here and there, little races, little battles throughout the ice, and we’re not quite there”.
These two teams know how to score. Braden Holtby, who holds the highest save percentage in playoff history, has not exactly looked like himself this postseason.
The more honest the Caps are with themselves about the true difficulty of title runs – how almost terrifying they can seem at times and how quickly true crises jump up in your face – the better they can cope with them. Don’t underestimate Ovechkin though; the playoffs bring out a completely different beast in these players. It wasn’t until the second that the scoring started, with Sidney Crosby scoring twice and Alex Ovechkin scoring once.
Crosby’s career playoff stats in 14 games vs. Washington?
A red-rocking Verizon Center was electric through a goal-less first period, and the sellout crowd got a chance to boo quickly in the second period. Their story to be continued… But the unexpected happened, it’s believed Murray may have suffered an injury in the last week of the season in a game against New Jersey.
Pittsburgh exposed Washington’s lack of speed a year ago and has the potential to do so again even if winger Carl Hagelin isn’t ready to start the series.
Now I’m not trying to mock the Capitals or downgrade them as a team. He also had six hits in the game. We’ve got to find some goals for him, too. “We’ve just got to go home and regroup”. But the Penguins respond well, and Fleury continues to keep things in check. That third goal [in Game 2], that’s a big moment. The four teams that played Saturday combined to have only two power-play goals.
“He’ll tell you that he can be better”.
Nick Bonino is a Capitals killer.
The Capitals outshot the Penguins 35-21 – Holtby made 18 saves and Fleury was the difference.
The Capitals’ captain has accomplished nearly everything imaginable in a dozen pro seasons: three Hart Trophies as MVP, 558 regular-season goals and virtually every important franchise scoring record. He blocked a Phil Kessel shot in Game 1 that looked painful and kept on going.
To be the champs, you’ve got to beat the champs.
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The Washington Capitals, who went into this playoff series as one of the favorites to go on and win the Stanley Cup, now find themselves with their backs against the wall. Getting two before heading back to Pittsburgh – where the Pens have played much better throughout the season – would be an incredible bonus. Neither Colorado, the worst team in the National Hockey League, nor Vegas, the newcomer to the National Hockey League, made the top three.
