Playoffs | RMNB

Caps at Pens pregame: Time for a comeback (Game Three)

The Washington Capitals have traveled up north to play Game Three against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins currently lead the series 2-0 and it won’t help the Capitals that the next two games are at PPG Arena. What will the good guys need to do to flip the switch? Pretty much everything. This will include (but not limited to) a stronger defense, getting the puck past an unstoppable Marc-Andre Fleury, having more confidence in their game, and stopping their dumb mistakes.

You’re going to want to tune in to see where the hell this series ends up going.

Puck drop is a pinch after 7:30 PM on NBCSN. Peter will help you recover with the recap.

Penguins lead the series 2-0.

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)

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By Elyse Bailey 6 years ago

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Freed from the press box, Nate Schmidt is tearing up the first round

On March 14, Nate Schmidt scored a goal against his hometown Minnesota Wild. His 12 plus minutes of ice time would be all the shifty defenseman would see for the next three weeks, bumped from the Washington Capitals lineup for the newly acquired Kevin Shattenkirk. At the end of the regular season, Schmidt was able to dress for four games, picking up two points in place of the injured John Carlson. But for the playoffs, Schmidt was to be benched.

The 25-year-old always wears a smile on his face, but when I talked to him before Game One of Washington’s first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs he admitted being a health scratch tired him mentally.

“You have to prepare like you’re playing every night,” Schmidt said. “It’s tough.”

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By Chris Gordon 6 years ago

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The Maple Leafs overtime win in Game Two forces cancellation of Chris Brown concert

On Saturday night, The Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals battled for four hours and 21 minutes, with thrilling action that caused me to fall out of my seat during the high-stakes, anxious moments of overtime. In the end, the smashing cowbell and light-up beer mug party was ruined by a goal from Kasperi Kapanen at 11:36 pm, giving the Leafs a 4-3 win in the game which tied the first round series at one game apiece.

It turns out Kapanen crashed another party as well. Kapanen’s goal will force a Game Five on Friday, April 21. Chris Brown‘s The Party Tour with Fabulous, O.T. and more (!) is booked for that night at Verizon Center. And this time, the R&B star will draw the short end of the stick. He’s going to be booted for a later date.

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By Chris Gordon 6 years ago

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A guide for Caps fans: How to not be stressed out during the playoffs

Well, friends. It’s finally mid-April. 82 games are in the books, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs have descended upon us. For some, it is a wonderful time of year, full of exhilarating thrills, non-stop action, and emotional drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat. For others, however, it is a horrifying, painful time of year, full of exhilarating thrills, non-stop action, and emotional drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

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By Rachel Cohen 6 years ago

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Capitals first round playoff tickets are on sale right now

The most wonderful/nerve-wracking time of the year is nearly upon us: the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And if you wish to Rock the Red in person as the Caps chase the Cup, your chance to do so is finally here. Tickets for the Capitals first round home games will *officially* go on sale to the public today, March 30, at 1pm.

A limited number of tickets are available, and can be purchased via WashingtonCaps.com, in person at Kettler Capitals Ieplex or the Verizon Center box office, any Ticketmaster outlet, or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs officially start on April 12, though the Caps’ first round opponent, and game schedule is still TBA.

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By Rachel Cohen 7 years ago

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How the Penguins Plan to Shut Down Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals’ Dangerous Top-Six

Photo: Patrick Smith

Inside the cramped visitor’s locker room at Verizon Center, players, media, and staff played bumper cars, attempting — and sometimes failing — to dodge skates, equipment, and each other. “Oh, sorry,” one player said as he bumped me into a television camera.

“It’s not one of the better visiting locker rooms in the league, but maybe they try to do that for a reason,” former Capitals forward Eric Fehr said.

The room may be the size of a large walk-in closet, but there was another reason for the tight arrangements. The Capitals-Penguins series is the most high profile of the second round. Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby will meet in the playoffs for first time since the 2009 semifinals, an epic series that featured a game with dueling hat tricks and a heartbreaking blowout loss for the Capitals in Game Seven. The media list for Thursday night’s Game One spanned three pages, with large camera crews trucking down from the Great White North.

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By Chris Gordon 7 years ago

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Penguins’ Eric Fehr on Playing the Capitals: ‘We Might Have to Put the Phones Away in the Next Round’

Photo: Derek Leung

Eric Fehr and Mike Green both wanted to stay in Washington and win a Stanley Cup — it just didn’t work out that way. They had played their entire 10-year careers with the Caps, save for one year Fehr spent with the Jets. But with restricted free agents like Braden Holtby, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Marcus Johansson to lock up, plus the offseason acquisitions of Justin Williams and TJ Oshie, Fehr knew it would be tough to stay.

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By Chris Gordon 7 years ago

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The Capitals Don’t Like Your Narrative

Photo: Patrick McDermott

In Game Five, the Philadelphia Flyers had the fewest shots they’ve ever had in a game. But they won. The Washington Capitals, at one point up 3-0 in the series, are now heading to Philly, where the Flyers have a chance Sunday to force a Game Seven. This is the second time the Flyers have won two games in a row after being down 3-0. The last time, against the Bruins in 2010, they won the next two as well, becoming the third team in NHL history to win a series after being down 3-0.

Washington has a playoff pedigree as well. It involves losing in painful ways. It’s on everyone’s minds. But the Capitals want none of it. Here’s what they said after dropping Game Five.

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By Chris Gordon 7 years ago

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Penalties Doom Capitals As Flyers Claw Back Into Series

Photo: Rob Carr

After Monday night’s anarchic attempt at a hockey game, the Washington Capitals held a 3-0 series lead. In 180 minutes of hockey, the Philadelphia Flyers took 96 PIMs. Washington’s power play was eight for 17. The Caps, it seemed, were in for a long layover before facing the winner of the Rangers-Penguins series.

“Everything they’ve gotten to a point we’ve given them,” Wayne Simmonds said in the minutes after Game Three ended. “We’ve got to stay out of the box.”

The Flyers have done that the last two games, reducing Washington to five power plays in Games Four and Five. Without that boost, the Caps fell when the series shifted back to Verizon Center Friday night. They outshot the Flyers 44-11 — shot attempts were 82-27 — but lost the special teams battle. Philadelphia had six power plays while Washington’s deadly man-advantage unit was limited to three.

“We were in the box a lot,” Tom Wilson, who did not receive any infractions, said. “Yeah, we had a lot of shots, but we have to do a better job of getting to the interior and staying out of the box. If we play 60 minutes five-on-five, I don’t think you see that team standing up by the end of it.”

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By Chris Gordon 7 years ago

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Pierre-Édouard Bellemare Suspended One Game for Illegal Check From Behind on Dmitry Orlov

Photo: Matt Slocum

Late in the third period of Game Three, Flyers forward Pierre-Édouard Bellemare delivered a reckless hit on Dmitry Orlov, driving the Capitals defenseman’s head into the end boards. He was assessed a five minute major for checking from behind and a game misconduct with a disciplinary hearing scheduled for Tuesday. In the evening, the NHL delivered its verdict.

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By Chris Gordon 7 years ago

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