A few days after three Caps fans showed up to Maple Leaf Square in Toronto, two girls followed suit on Sunday. In a sea of blue, they were among a handful of Caps fans celebrating Marcus Johansson’s series-ending overtime tally.
By Cara Bahniuk 4 years ago
Early in Game Five, Leafs forward Nazem Kadri clipped Alex Ovechkin in the leg, sending the Ovechkin tumbling to the ice. For a moment fans worried if Ovechkin’s season were over, but the future Hall of Famer returned for the start of the next period, unfazed.
Ovechkin landed a big hit on Jake Gardiner. Later he jabbed Kadri, as if to say, you made a big mistake for messing with me. In Game Six, Ovechkin’s bullying of Kadri concluded as he suplexed and flipped the center late in the second period.
Sunday night the Capitals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs for the last time this season, winning 2-1 in the fifth overtime of the series. All six games were won by one goal. Even though it would’ve been arrogant to completely dismiss the Leafs prior to this series, almost nobody thought it would be quite this tough (Peter and Ian excepted). Props to the Leafs, who showed that they can be a deep, tough, and structured opponent.
The heroics last night came mainly from Marcus Johansson, who got the OT winner and the late third period game-tying goal. Nate Schmidt was nearly injured by Leo Komarov (who we won’t miss), but hopefully he’ll be okay for the Caps’ upcoming matchup with the flightless birds.
Once again, shot attempts were nearly even at 63 to 62 in favor of the Caps at five-on-five, and scoring chances were 31-27. The Caps seized the “big moment” of OT and managed to put five shots on net to just one by the Leafs.
By Nathan Sick 4 years ago
Justin Williams may have tallied the primary assist on Marcus Johansson’s round one series-ending goal, but his night ended in the worst possible way.
At some point while the three-time Stanley Cup champion was returning home, Williams received a gift from the Virginia State Police: a speeding ticket.
The Washington Capitals gave a rare peek inside the locker room after the team’s first-round victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As the happy players undressed and packed up their gear, they jammed out to a mid-80’s country rock song.
The Washington Capitals are going to round two and there was no one more excited than Dmitry Orlov.
As Marcus Johansson tucked the game-winning biscuit into the back of the net, he was mobbed by his teammates at the far boards. But several excited Capitals lingered on the bench for an extra few seconds. Orlov was one of these people.
Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis flew up to Toronto along with his beautiful wife Lynn to watch the Caps in Game Six.
Live and in person, Leonsis saw an amazing sight. Marcus Johansson ended the game six minutes and thirty-one seconds into overtime, sending the Capitals to round two.
In the locker room, Leonsis had a special gift for Johansson.
Marcus “Joe Hanson” Johansson will now be forever be a part of Caps lore, if he weren’t already due to Swedes On Bikes.
The Swedish forward scored the biggest goal of his career in overtime of Game Six. The goal sends the Caps to the second round of the playoffs where they will meet the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins for the second consecutive year (get your anti-Pens merch here).
There can be no doubt: this was the best series in the first round of Stanley Cup playoffs. The Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs played an intense, fast-paced, and evenly matched six games.
But now it’s over. Washington won.
After a series of plentiful scoring and endless highlights, we had a slog through forty minutes. In the third, Auston Matthews got a crazy bounce off a dump-in for a layup, but then Marcus Johansson drove hard to the corner of the net to tie it up with seven minutes left. That pushed us into our fifth overtime, where Marcus Johansson finished it with a ferocious fight from point blank.
Caps win 2-1 in overtime! Caps win the series 4-2!
By Peter Hassett 4 years ago
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov plays his role as a pest well and usually plays somewhat in the lines.
Tonight was not one of those nights.
