It’s the final countdown. It’s do-or-die. It’s sink or float. It’s Game Five in Washington, D.C. and the Pittsburgh Penguins are up in the series 3-1.
What’s new? Alex Ovechkin has been moved to the third line and Andre Burakovsky has moved up. For the Penguins, Conor Sheary and Sidney Crosby are going to be game-time decisions. They both passed concussion tests.
If they’re going to dig themselves out of this horrible hole, the Capitals will need to loosen up. Braden Holtby told the Washington Post, “[the Capitals] need to loosen up a bit and just play hockey. That’s when we play our best, when we don’t worry about anything. We play for each other and that’s what it’s going to take to get this done.” Here’s hopin’.
Penguins lead the series 3-1.
Puck will drop a tad after 7:15 PM on, of course, NBC. *eyeroll*
| Team | Record | SA% | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Capitals | 55-19-8 | 53.2% | 102.7 | 23.1% (4th) | 83.8% (7th) |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 50-21-11 | 50.7% | 101.6 | 23.1% (3rd) | 79.8% (20th) |
Projected Lines
“Whoa, Elyse. That’s quite a typo with Alex Ovechkin on the third line.” Not a typo. It’s real life.
Expect 7D again.
The good boys:
Burakovsky – Backstrom – Oshie
Johansson – Kuznetsov – Williams
Ovechkin – Eller – Wilson
Winnik – Beagle – Carey
Orlov – Niskanen
Orpik – Carlson
Schmidt – Shattenkirk
Holtby
The baddest boys:
Guentzel – BLAH – Hornqvist
Rust – Malkin– Kessel
Wilson– Bonino– BLAH
Kunitz – Cullen– Kuhnhackl
Dumoulin – Hainsey
Maatta – Daley
Cole – Schultz
Fleury
Patch
This is Patch. He is a one-eyed horse with apparently a great attitude. He is running in the KENTUCKY DERBY! I can definitely sympathize with this. While I have both my eyes, sometimes the knee I had surgery on aches, but I have an excellent attitude (and sometimes I look really scary). Anything is possible if you believe, Caps fans!!!
Here’s Patch, who appears remarkably chill for a guy who has to run very fast in public soon pic.twitter.com/Yjxn8bhff0
— Charlotte Wilder (@TheWilderThings) May 6, 2017
Catch Patch, the one-eyed race horse defying the odds, at the 143rd Kentucky Derby this Saturday https://t.co/S9aON8dhRa pic.twitter.com/6B1YbjijuS
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 6, 2017
Storylines
- RMNB’s Amanda Bowen posted her senior thesis video. It’s required watching for any Caps fan.
- How can the Caps win Game Five? We have nine ways this can happen.
- A lesson in comebacks from the quackers on the other side of the country.
- I’ve never felt emotionally connected to a D.C. memorial before…until now.
- “This guy’s a FAKER.” –Don Cherry about Nick Bonino.
- Alex Ovechkin is really hopin’ these new lines work and so are we.
- Treat yo’self to these brand new Caps-themed kicks.
- We’re kind of hoping everyone just pretends the last game didn’t happen, but in case you were curious about the numbers…of course we have them for you.
- The Caps are BURYING Marc-Andre Fleury alive with shots that are (unfortunately) very easy-to-save.
- Michael “Mouse” McNealy is retiring. Learn all about him, listen to his stories, and his wishes for the Capitals.
- Should this series need a Game Six, we have the details about the start time!
- “Be Better” -Barry Trotz to the team, basically. But is that really fair?
- Sidney Crosby is a big ol’ “maybe” for tonight’s game, so keep an eye out.
- #CROSVECHKIN is alive and well as Sidney Crosby absolves Alex Ovechkin’s slash.
Relax
Everyone, relax. Everything is fine. I love you all. Here are some things to calm you down.
Some very calming nature sounds.
Sign up for Calm.com for some guided mediation.
Here is a list of 100 things to do instead of sitting around and stressing out.
A video for breathing control to reduce stress of anxiety.
Look at this baby and every time it gets released from the swaddle.
Headline photo: Joe Sargent
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