Ann 22009 NHL Playoffs – Round 2: Capitals Draw First Blood Against Penguins, Win 3-2 (Video Included)
May 5th 2009 02:51
Going into this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, most of the question marks surrounding the Washington Capitals were about their porous defense and inconsistent, if not shaky, goaltending. The first game against the New York Rangers in the first round confirmed those fears as Jose Theodore let four pucks slip past him in a 4-3 defeat. But then something happened. When rookie Simeon Varlamov replaced Theodore for the second game of that series, the Capitals had no choice but to protect their young and untested goalie. Suddenly, the Caps were able to not only get the big stops from the goaltender when it mattered but, most importantly, they also learned how to shut down a game.
It's those two aspects that stood out for me in the Caps' first game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After a sloppy start during which they conceded the first goal, the Capitals got into a groove that was hard to match. Goals by David Steckel and Alexander Ovechkin (on the powerplay) in the first period gave them the momentum they needed to start the second period with some jump. Despite Washington's explosion of energy, it was the Penguins who scored the only goal of the period as Mark Eaton put both teams level at 2-2. It's at this point that goaltending becomes important and Varlamov answered the call in a big way towards the end of the period. With two minutes remaining, the young goalie, taken out of position by Kunitz's pass to Crosby, somehow had reflex and presence of mind to put his stick on the goal line and deny Crosby of a sure goal in an empty net. The Penguins captain was already celebrating when Varlamov swatted the puck away from the goal to keep the score at 2-2.
The Capitals rewarded their goalie with a goal by Tomas Fleischmann early in the third period which gave them a 3-2 lead. Then, they proceeded to playing it safe by clogging the neutral zone as much as they could and dumping the puck deep inside Pittsburgh's zone. They also performed admirably well in shorthanded situations, killing two penalties in the third period (five in total) to preserve their slim lead over the more experienced Penguins.
At the end of it all, that save on Crosby was the turning point of the game. Varlamov made 34 saves out of 36 shots but that one was the most important. Had Crosby scored, the Penguins would have ended the second period with a 3-2 lead despite being unable to keep up at the start of those 20 minutes. Who knows how the game would have turned out had this happened. Now, the Capitals lead the series 1-0 and will try avoid a split in Game 2,
My 3 Stars:
3. Nicklas Backstrom
2. Alexander Semin
1. Simeon Varlamov
It's those two aspects that stood out for me in the Caps' first game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After a sloppy start during which they conceded the first goal, the Capitals got into a groove that was hard to match. Goals by David Steckel and Alexander Ovechkin (on the powerplay) in the first period gave them the momentum they needed to start the second period with some jump. Despite Washington's explosion of energy, it was the Penguins who scored the only goal of the period as Mark Eaton put both teams level at 2-2. It's at this point that goaltending becomes important and Varlamov answered the call in a big way towards the end of the period. With two minutes remaining, the young goalie, taken out of position by Kunitz's pass to Crosby, somehow had reflex and presence of mind to put his stick on the goal line and deny Crosby of a sure goal in an empty net. The Penguins captain was already celebrating when Varlamov swatted the puck away from the goal to keep the score at 2-2.
The Capitals rewarded their goalie with a goal by Tomas Fleischmann early in the third period which gave them a 3-2 lead. Then, they proceeded to playing it safe by clogging the neutral zone as much as they could and dumping the puck deep inside Pittsburgh's zone. They also performed admirably well in shorthanded situations, killing two penalties in the third period (five in total) to preserve their slim lead over the more experienced Penguins.
At the end of it all, that save on Crosby was the turning point of the game. Varlamov made 34 saves out of 36 shots but that one was the most important. Had Crosby scored, the Penguins would have ended the second period with a 3-2 lead despite being unable to keep up at the start of those 20 minutes. Who knows how the game would have turned out had this happened. Now, the Capitals lead the series 1-0 and will try avoid a split in Game 2,
My 3 Stars:
3. Nicklas Backstrom
2. Alexander Semin
1. Simeon Varlamov
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