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Erat lies on the ice after colliding with Ovechkin and Stepan. (Photo credit: Bruce Bennett)
The Washington Capitals power play was very good this season; they scored a lot of goals on it. In the first period of game 4 on Thursday Night, though, it was very bad — so bad that the Rangers had more shorthanded chances than the Caps had shots on goal. One of those opportunities for New York was rather disastrous for Washington.
Photo credit: Kathy Willens
The Capitals lost to the New York Rangers 4-3 on Monday, but let’s not let the sadness get the best of us. There were some good moments in the game, most notably Mike Green‘s exemplary play throughout. In 24:32 of ice time, Green had two shots, blocked two others, led his team in possession, and scored his second goal of the playoffs. And it was a beauty.
Jason Chimera is 6′ 3″. Joe Beninati is not. To get the two in the same frame for a pregame interview required some assistance.
I sympathize; this is what school dances were like for me in 7th grade.
Brian is a lance corporal in the Marines, currently stationed in Afghanistan. Brian brings his Caps flag out on every patrol. Brian is my hero.
Thanks for reading, Brian– at least when you’ve got internet access. Crash the net.
Photo credit: Sweetest Hockey On Earth’s Kyle Mace
Washington Capitals 2012 first-round pick Tom Wilson has played just two games for the Hershey Bears, but he’s already made a huge impact. After scoring 9 goals (including a hat trick) and 17 points in 12 playoff games with the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers, Wilson scored his first professional goal on Sunday for the Hershey Bears. And it happened because he got under the skin of 2011-12 AHL leading scorer Chris Bourque.
GIF by welshhockeyfan
Odd thing about low-scoring overtime wins: half the players mob the goal-scorer and the other half (and I’m extending mucho kudos for this) mobs the other guy, the goaltender.
Way to go, Mike Green and Braden Holtby. And bravo to the guys who remembered how they got to OT in the first place. This lovely GIF is going right next to Joel Ward’s bench-clearer in Boston on our GIF mantel shelf.
Epic celebration! (Photo credit: Greg Fiume)
In the last couple years, Mike Green has struggled mightily with injury. His goal production has slumped, and he has failed to put up more than 8 goals and 24 points in the last two seasons. But over the summer, Washington Capitals General Manager George McPhee went all in on #52, giving him a three-year contract extension and a substantial pay raise. A lot of people, including me, were critical of the signing. We were wrong.
That confidence McPhee showed in his struggling player has paid off this season, as Green has returned to form, scoring 12 goals and tallying 26 points in 35 games. Against the Rangers on Saturday, Green did what he did best– scoring the game-winning overtime goal, the only goal of the game. AND HOLY #$%& WHY I AM WRITING SO SERIOUS. WHAT A GOAL WHAT A GOAL WHAT A GOAL!
It’s like what Nick Fury says to Robin Scherbatsky at the end of The Avengers. He comes through because we need him.
GIF by welshhockeyfan
Two days after Steve Oleksy took a wrist shot to the cheek, he absorbed even more facial violence in game two, this time getting high-sticked in the mouth by Derek Dorsett. Dorsett was whistled for a minor penalty, and Binky, just like on Thursday, didn’t miss a shift. But his poor face.
Photo credit: Chris Gordon
Steve Oleksy played in 14 playoff games in professional hockey before tonight: with the Idaho Steelheads, the Lake Erie Monsters, and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He had never played in an NHL postseason game, because, until March of this year, he was little more than an AHL role player.
Thursday though, he set up the game-winning goal in the Washington’s 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers to open up the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. And it was awesome.
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