Alex the Astonishing: Capitals In-Game Rant

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Third period, 17 minutes left in game four and the Capitals were on the verge of virtual elimination.  Going down three games to one would prove to be too much for the youngsters from DC.  But great players rise to the occasion and Ovechkin no doubt stood at attention like your grandpa after he takes the little blue pill.  However, it seemed he (and the Caps) only had one round in him (no pun intended).

We had seen it at least 20 times before in this series, Ovechkin streaking down the left side and firing/missing a long range slapshot but this time the outcome was a bit different. Ovechkin, the Great Eight, summoned the power of the gods with what had to be a 150 mph slapper that ping’d off the crossbar and into the goal beating the brick wall otherwise known as King Lundquist.

The Capitals, besides game three for which they finally made adjustments, had reverted back to pressing which proved to be unsuccessful up to this point.  While Alex the Astonishing had been trying to one-on-one in games one and two, game three was a masterful team performance.  The first two periods of game four saw great looks being millimeters away from lighting the lamp.  It also saw the Kozlov inches away from a goal here and Semin inches away from a goal there.  Sometimes though it’s just not your time.  Life is a game of minutes and sports is a game of inches and it seems that this year is not the Capitals’.

Mentally the Capitals have not shown to be a team that can lock down and get gritty, consistently.  For all the talent they have, all the goals they’ve scored in the regular season, and all the fun they had, the playoffs aren’t fun for them.  It seems to be arduous.  As Locker put it, paraphrasing here, being fancy is fine but in the playoffs you have to simplify your game.  Big hits are good but I’d rather they play dogged team defense.  Mike Green: I’d rather you not handle the puck so flippantly and worry about being a defender not an offensive defensemen…..

A powerplay with 9:33 left in the third due to a Avery, “I’m a dick who manufactures purses, hit to Jurcina.”  Ovechkin hits the post with a rocket and nothing doing. Now the Caps have to defend the Rangers PP and we need our 20-year-old goalie to come through huge, a shorthanded goal wouldn’t be bad either. Situation averted but no shorthanded goal.

Avery commits another stick to the face and we’re about to tie this thing up.  Power Play for the Caps. Heightened enthusiasm but no goal, PP over, goalie pulled, and T.O. CAPS. PP over and outcome determined – Caps go down 3 games to 1 but Backstrom, my favorite players wants us to believe “they’re not done.”

Are the Capitals choking?

udothedishes…