The Washington Capitals took Game One on home ice, but it wasn’t flawless. The Caps took and held an early lead but were on their heels for long stretches of it. Things got pretty hairy in the third period. If the Hurricanes get as much offense as they had in Game One, this is gonna be an interesting day.
And the day part matters. It’s a dreaded day game with puck drop at 3:00 PM. It’s on NBC, and I’m sorry about that. You can stream it using the My Teams app if you are at your niece’s volleyball game or friend’s going-away party. Peter’s got recap duty, so please nice to him because he’s fragile.
Regular season stats:
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Record | 48-26-8 | 46-29-7 |
| Shot Attempt % | 49.0% | 54.8% |
| PDO | 102.2 | 99.2 |
| Power Play | 20.8% (12th) | 17.8% (20th) |
| Penalty Kill | 78.9% (24th) | 81.6% (8th) |
Projected Lines
No morning skate. No changes. Eller’s fine.
Ovechkin – Backstrom – Wilson
Hagelin – Kuznetsov – Oshie
Vrana – Eller – Connolly
Burakovsky – Dowd – Stephenson
Carlson – Jensen
Orlov – Niskanen
Orpik – Djoos
Holtby
I Made a Song About How The Playoffs Feel
It’s like what if my blood pressure had a keyboard and 10 free minutes.
Storylines
- Lars Eller skipped practice yesterday, but he’s fine.
- Traffic is gonna be brutal today because of the cherry blossoms and also because of Maryland drivers.
- Keep an eye on Justin Williams, that miserable old man, whom we hate and have always hated, I think the record is clear on this.
- The Blue Jackets have put the Bolts down 2-0 in the series. Nikita Kucherov‘s gonna get suspended. The Pens are also down 2-0 to the Isles. Chris has more in the playoff report.
- The Caps’ new hype video is happy feelings.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov must be stopped.
- All abooooooard.
- Please do review Brennin’s recap of Game One, which is my favorite and most experiential way to relive games.
- PSA on radio coverage:
Programming note: Today’s Game 2 can be heard in Washington exclusively on 1500 AM this afternoon. After today, all remaining playoff games will be on 106.7 The Fan. All games can be heard everywhere on @CapitalsRadio on the app and at https://t.co/a3x0n9PPFc
— John Walton (@JohnWaltonPxP) April 13, 2019
This Tweet
Connor McDavid, in the final game of season, and I think I’m using the correct medical terminology here, janked up his leg pretty bad. Right after the hit, he appeared to say, “it’s broken”, which, ya know, it wasn’t. He showed up to the arena the next day without crutches, so everyone was pretty curious about the health status of the galaxy’s best hockey player.
Then we got this:
UPDATE: The #Oilers medical staff, in collaboration with top orthopedic specialists, have determined a rehabilitation protocol for Connor McDavid, which will begin immediately.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 13, 2019
Well that clears it all up. We’ve learned a lot here. I’ll itemize:
- The Oilers are a team
- They have a medical staff
- They have orthopedic specialists who are an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more
- They have a dude named Connor
- Connor is alive, probably
- Connor is doing something, starting right now
We do not know:
- What and where Connor’s injury is
- If Connor needed or had surgery (we later learned no)
- What Connor’s prognosis is
So 10 out of 10 for the PR group out there. Bravo. Take the summer off. You deserve it.
Dreger hit us with the real story:
Sources say McDavid suffered a small tear of the pcl ligament in his knee. No surgery required. Should be ready for start of the season.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) April 13, 2019
Full RMNB Coverage of Game Two
Headline photo: Patrick McDermott
