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On the brink: Lightning beat Caps 3-2

By Peter Hassett

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May 19, 2018 9:53 pm

Yeah: The Caps got mudstomped.

It started bad. Cedric Pacqutte scored on the very first shift. It got worse. Ondrej Palat added another nine minutes later, a high-slot wrister. Then it got terribad. Ryan Callahan scored early in the second period. The Caps powered through, cracking the shutout when Evgeny Kuznetsov deflected Matt Niskanen’s shot. With an extra man and 100 seconds left, Alex Ovechkin got a slapshot through to narrow the gap, but it wasn’t enough.

Bolts beat Caps 3-2. Bolts lead the series 3-2.

  • I believe I’ve pinpointed the exact moment when things started going wrong for the Washington Capitals.
  • That was the opening faceoff. From that moment on, the Caps got uniformly outplayed. This was a masterful performance by Tampa Bay, their first excellent game of the series, and it sucked to watch. In the first period, Tampa generated 16 scoring chances. Washington generated one.
  • In the first period, Brett Connolly committed a restraining penalty in the offensive zone. Lars Eller was nearby when it happened but was probably not directly responsible. Still, he’s getting a side eye from me. Anyway, the Caps killed the penalty, which was a neat change-up.
  • With some lineup tweaks (Ovi and Backstrom reunited), the Caps of the second period fared much better, driving play and getting slightly better quality than the Bolts. All that good effort was undone before it began with the Callahan goal.
  • Steven Stamkos seemed to trip Dmitry Orlov before the Palat goal. It should not have counted, but it’s not like the refs were the reason the Caps couldn’t put a play together in the first period.
  • Alex Ovechkin hasn’t really had a good game since Game Two – his nine shots on goal in Game Three notwithstanding. He didn’t come anywhere near that offensive total in Game Five, and his line was totally dominated by McDonagh-Stralman for the first time this series, but the desperation of those final minutes (while he was deep into a very long shift) at least afforded him one big goal and us a short-lived glimmer of hope.
  • On the other end of the spectrum, and now on another line, Evgeny Kuznetsov kept his torrid scoring streak going, notching a big goal in the second period. Today is Kuzy’s birthday. Now he can get his learner’s permit I think.
  • Also, great efforts by John Carlson (8 shots) and Devante Smith-Pelly (4 shots).

  • ergw

Feeling of the night

Game Six, Monday in DC, will be an elimination game for the Caps. A loss would mean a reverse sweep. If the team that played and lost Game Five is truly who this team is, then the reverse sweep would be an act of mercy.

But I don’t think the Caps we saw tonight were anything remotely near an accurate representation of who this team is. This was certainly a failure, but it doesn’t have to be a damning one. If they can play like they did in Games One through Four – and get just a scintilla of luck, the Caps can still make the Cup Final.

Full Coverage of Game Five

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