Chimera-bration!
The pain of the playoffs usually goes like this: the Caps are dominating play but can’t crack the goalie. They do everything right, but they just can’t hit the back of the net.
Game Two was the exact freaking opposite. The Caps were on their heels from the drop, but Flyers goalie Steve Mason wasn’t exactly Halak-like in his crease work. A trio of goals in the first forty made this a solid win, and that curious reversal of fortunes made Saturday night actually kind of pleasant and fun. That’s not the Caps playoff hockey I know, but I could get used to it.
John Carlson scored first, using patience and a couple screens to crack Steve Mason. And crack he did. Mason next allowed a high-fiber softy from Jason Chimera early in the second period. Jakub Voracek narrowed the score by seizing on a loose puck, but Alex Ovechkin got an Ovi shot from the Ovi spot before the second intermission to make it 3-1.
With two minutes and change left in the third, Nick Backstrom got himself on the ledger, zipping a glove stick-side goal on poor Steve Mason. Locker called it “icing on the cake,” which reminds me– we should eat some cake!
Caps beat Flyers 4-1! Caps lead the series 2-0!
- Instant karma’s gonna get him / if I don’t get him first
- In the early goings, the Caps looked frantic and disorganized. Passes landed with the wrong team or in the skates of teammates. It was a mess, and that was a big part of why the Flyers owned that frame.
- Braden Holtby faced 19 shots in that period, the same number he saw in all of game one. Sorry, Game One. And just like in Game One, Holtby had a save for every shot. He was unstoppable, until he wasn’t. Which brings me to…
- Brooks Orpik, who played the man (good) but had zero awareness of the puck (bad) before Jakub Voracek‘s goal. Holtby would be pissed if he could still experience the emotions of mere humans.
- John “Druce” Carlson. He’s hot. That’s all I’ve got.
- Jason Chimera scored a playoff goal from 101 feet away on what was basically just a dump-in to avoid icing.
- An Ovi Shot from the Ovi Spot™ gave the Caps a 3-1 lead, but it also did this
Tonight marks the first time the #Caps have scored two power-play goals in a playoff game since April 26, 2009 at NY Rangers.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 17, 2016
- Can you believe that? I cannot believe that. I checked, and it’s right and I still cannot believe it. The Caps have played like 60+ games since then, and they’ve also been, by far, the best PP team in that span (7.42 GF60, Sharks in 2nd with 6.68). That’s wild.
- Tom Wilson got smothered during even strength, but when he finally got a glimpse of the offensive zone in the second period: ping. Postage. Poor kid.
- But it’s not fair to pick on Wilson when the third line was the one truly getting creamed. Mike Richards final tally: 6 Caps shot attempts. 16 Flyers attempts.
- While we’re on the topic of possession (measured by proxy using shot attempts), perfect human Nate Schmidt was sterling in the precious few shifts he got. Yeah, it looks like Barry Trotz is still skeptical of the schmidtuation.
- Quick shout-out to all my baes and boos on the PK unit, K-ing those P’s like it’s they job, which it is, so it’s a good thing they’re good at it. I’m not gonna say how good at it they are because a) oil painting, and b) Chris already called dibs on that story.
- Follow me past the Joe B suit for some hot Holtby talk, won’t you?
Joe B suit of the night
Braden Holtby isn’t a wall; he’s the goddamn wonderwall. Facing a daunting volume of shots, Holtby was beyond good. He was sublime. He was transcendental.
He was also what we have come to expect from our franchise goalie. We are so spoiled. It’s the best. He’s the best.
Forty-two Flyers shots, bunches of them from high-danger zones, and all but one of them saved. With a mortal goalie, this was a very lose-able game. With Holtby, it’s a lock.
The Capitals take a 2-0 series lead to Philadelphia. How will the Flyers respond? Will we see Michal Neuvirth in net? Will I drink a tall glass of scotch now? I know the answer to just one of those questions.
CRASH THE NET!
