Lost in the hoopla of the Capitals’ Game Five win is more staggering evidence that Alex Ovechkin is an elite postseason player.
Early in the third period of Game Five, Ovechkin scored his 46th career postseason goal, which now ranks him third all-time among all Russian born players.
The Nashville Predators authored an emotional moment before Game Six of their second-round matchup against the St. Louis Blues.
Predators forward Kevin Fiala made his first public appearance at Bridgestone Arena since suffering a season-ending injury in the first game of the second round. While on crutches, a grinning Fiala waved his rally towel while the Predators crowd roared in support.
By Cara Bahniuk 7 years ago
As the Capitals try to go somewhere they’ve never gone before in the Ovechkin era (the third round), the team is getting support from some unlikely but awesome sources.
Former Redskins quarterback and Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien was at Verizon Center for Game Five of the Capitals-Penguins second round series. Meanwhile, current Redskins stars Kirk Cousins and Josh Norman rooted on the team on social media.
Penguins fans that invade Verizon Center have an annoying tradition after every victory. The fans congregate at the steps of the National Portrait Gallery and chant Let’s Go Pens (and other terrible things), aggravating somber Caps fans as they return home.
But Saturday night, the Caps won.
Pens fans did not invade the steps. Caps fans defended them. And it was awesome.
Headed into the third period, the Caps were down 2-1. Their backs were against the wall and facing elimination.
The Caps proceeded to score three unanswered goals to start the stanza, including back-to-back goals from Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin 27-seconds apart.
YEAH! The CARDIAC CAPS ARE BACK!
Nicklas Backstrom may live in Alex Ovechkin’s shadow but the Verizon Center spot light was shining bright on him early in the third period.
After taking a slick pass from Andre Burakovsky, the Caps Swede hit the far side of the net, tying Game Five at two goals a piece.
Capitals forward Tom Wilson is throwing his body around during Game Five. Through two periods of play, Wilson has four hits and all of them were teeth-rattlers.
From the third line, Andre Burakovsky has arguably been the Caps best forward in the playoffs, leading the team in shot-attempts percentage (66.02%). Yet he hasn’t been rewarded with a goal during the entire 2017 postseason.
That all changed Saturday night at Verizon Center. Burakovsky, who was promoted earlier in the week to the first line by Barry Trotz, scored late in the first period to tie the game.
It was a HUGE goal.
There are missed calls and then there’s this.
10:58 into the first period, Braden Holtby skated behind the net to stop a Penguins dump in. After leaving the puck for Kevin Shattenkirk, Holtby skated back to the crease. He was tripped by Patric Hornqvist. Blantantly.
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) |
By Elyse Bailey 7 years ago
