Day one of the pretournament games for the World Cup of Hockey didn’t disappoint at all. In the first afternoon tilt, Finalnd’s Olli Maatta beat Sweden’s Jonas Enroth on a two on one rush in overtime to lead the Fins to a 3-2 victory over their archrivals. In the second matinee, Alex Ovechkin’s Russian squad took 3-1 and 4-2 leads and then hung on behind goalie Sergei Bobrovsky’s 29 saves to defeat the Czech Republic, 4-3. In the main event on Thursday night, Team North America, comprised of Canadian and American players all age 23 and under, smoked a slow looking Team Europe, which consists of all European players not from Russia, Sweden, Finland, or the Czech Republic, 4-0. North America was extremely fun to watch with their high speed game.

As for the Capitals who suited up and played on Thursday, the Gr8 and Evgeny Kuznetsov were both held pointless in 15:17 and 15:57 of ice time, respectively. Ovechkin did have three hits. Russia’s Dmitry Orlov had an assist and led his team in ice time, with 20:12. Nicklas Backstrom was also held without a point in 16:58 of ice time and he went 8-7 on face-offs.

Friday night has one game, and it is a big one: USA vs. Canada from Columbus, Ohio at 7 pm on ESPNU.

On Wednesday night, I provided my World Cup of Hockey blue line rankings. Now we take a look at the goalies from each squad. Keep in mind that this is a SHORT tournament and having a hot goalie is very important to win, so I give more weight to those teams who I believe have net minders who are prone to hot streaks. Depth is important too, because if one goalie is off of his game, it’s paramount that you have a quality backup.

So without further adieu, here’s my rankings of each team’s goaltending from worst to first:

Eighth – Team Czech Republic – Peter Mrazek (DET), Michal Neuvirth (PHI), and Ondrej Pavelec (WPG). Each of these goalies has the ability to steal a game or two, but there’s no long term success history for any of them at the NHL level, and especially in this big time type of a tournament.

Seventh – Team Europe – Jaroslav Halak (NYI), Tomas Greiss (NYI), and Philipp Grubauer (WAS). Halak looked pretty rusty in the game against North America. He battled injuries last spring and if he doesn’t recover quickly, Greiss or Neuvy will see the cage. Halak has gotten hot in the past, but that was many moons ago.

Sixth – Team Sweden – Henrik Lundqvist (NYR), Jacob Markstrom (VAN), and Jhonas Enroth (TOR). Markstrom and Enroth are not very good and King Henrik is now 34 years old. Sure Lundqvist has shown the ability to get in the zone and steal several games in a row, but we haven’t seen that since the spring of 2015 when he helped the Rangers rally from a 3-1 series deficit against the Caps. This is Sweden’s biggest weakness.

Fifth – Team North America – Matt Murray (PIT), John Gibson (ANA), and Connor Hellebuyck (WPG). Murray plays so big with his solid positioning and he looked to have not missed a beat in his debut against Team Europe on Thursday night. He’s won a Stanley Cup, which none of the Sweden, Europe, or Czech Republic goalies can claim. Gibson played very well in the World Championships a few years back, so he’ll be the backup.

Fourth – Team Russia – Semyon Varlamov (COL), Sergei Bobrovsky (CMB), and Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB). This is a really strong trio and all have big game experience. Each of them has the ability to get hot. I’m guessing “Bob” will be the starter. He battled injuries last season and Varlamov has a history of groin issues, as well.

Third – Team Finland – Pekka Rinne (NAS), Tuukka Rask (BOS), and Mikko Koskinen (KHL). It’ll be Rinne first and if he falters, Tuukka will take over. Both are goalies that can get extremely hot and dominate for several games, so that makes them dangerous. The good news for Rask is there are no games at the Verizon Center in actual tournament play, he’s never won in the phone booth.

Second – Team USA – Jonathan Quick (LA), Ben Bishop (TB), and Corey Schneider (NJ). All three are very good goalies and can get super hot. Quick is the likely starter given his two Stanley Cup rings and experience in the Sochi Olympics, where he helped the USA to only fall 1-0 in a semi-final game against Canada, one in which they had no business being that close in.

First – Team Canada – Carey Price (MTL), Braden Holtby (WAS), and Corey Crawford (CHI). This is a no brainer. They have the last two Vezina Trophy winners, including the 2014-15 MVP in Price and a two time Stanley Cup Champion in Crawford. Yes, Price is returning from injury, so there’s questions surrounding him, but if he can’t play then either the Holtbeast or Crawford have plenty of talent and experience to do the job. Canada is flat out loaded at every position.

There have been 41 Washington Capitals seasons and zero Stanley Cup Championships.

Those are the facts, there is no denying them.

2015-16 was supposed to be different. It sure felt that way, from the general manager to the coaches to the players to the fans and even some in the media. Heck, I was front and center putting myself out there saying this team and this season would be different.

In many ways, it was, and we’ll touch on that later.

But in the end, as Justin Williams, John Carlson, and many other Capitals players proclaimed on breakdown day on May 12, 2016, the season was a “failure” following a devastating overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in game six that allowed the Pens to win a very closely contested series, four games to two.

Pittsburgh scored 16 goals and Washington tallied 15 times in the series. Each Penguins victory, two of which came in overtime, was achieved by a single goal. Both teams had stretches where they dominated the play, but ultimately it was the Penguins who prevailed.

Did the Capitals deserve a better fate from the Hockey Gods?

Maybe, I mean how often do you see a goal scored off of the back of a player? That happened in game three for Pittsburgh, a game in which the Caps carried the large majority of the play, but managed to lose. Numerous times in this series the Capitals had themselves in position to bury a puck at a key moment, and somehow it bounced over their players stick. Surely luck was not on their side, and as Matt Niskanen noted on breakdown day, you talk to guys around the league who have won championships and they’ll tell you need luck along the way to win.

There is truth to that, around these parts there is no denying that the two Super Bowls the Baltimore Ravens won included some luck. Al Del Greco hit the upright on a field goal right before halftime and then a blocked Del Greco field goal, in the fourth quarter, landed right in the hands of Anthony Mitchell and he then returned it for the game winning touchdown in 2000 against the Titans. Joe Flacco’s Hail Mary pass to Jacoby Jones in 2012 went over the head of a Broncos safety that mistimed his play on the ball for the tying touchdown to set up overtime and an eventual huge Ravens upset. All of those plays included luck, but the Ravens were also good enough to put themselves in position to get the breaks.

You certainly need some luck to win and the Capitals received some of that in series one when Jason Chimera’s innocent dump in deflection traveled 100 feet and through the wickets of Steve Mason into the cage in game two. The Caps took advantage and raced to a three to nothing series lead and eventually prevailed, four games to two over the Flyers.

In series two, Washington didn’t get the bounces and lost by a goal, but it wasn’t bad luck that did them in.

We’ll get that to what ultimately doomed them in a minute, but first, let’s put some perspective on where this team has come from over the last two years.

After a disastrous 2013-14 season, the Capitals were an absolute train wreck and a Stanley Cup seemed to be mostly an unobtainable goal in the near term. Following the conclusion of that season, I was full of piss and vinegar and rightfully called for the ultra-conservative and often panic stricken general manager to be let go, along with the divisive bench boss who seemed to insist on being the smartest guy in the room. I was furious that the blue line continually was not properly addressed by George McPhee for over 10 plus seasons. Fortunately, owner Ted Leonsis and team President Dick Patrick saw the same thing, when many in the national media were once again calling for the core of the team, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, to be shipped out instead.

Enter Coach Barry Trotz and promoted General Manager Brian MacLellan to commence a massive turnaround. They immediately went to work on two things the club desperately needed, a blue line fix and an identity as a team.

“Last year when I came here, that was the first thing we did, was fix the defense. We got two outstanding players in Brooks [Orpik] and Matt [Niskanen] and we started the process of building a culture and it started by fixing holes, by going out and getting the best people that we felt could do that and getting people who have won, then the next phase of that was to develop our own people,” said Caps coach Barry Trotz to Nestor Aparacio and I on February 29^th, 2016 at a WNST radio event at Buffalo Wild Wings in Belair to continue the fight against leukemia and support the bone marrow registry.

Those moves laid the foundation for a very successful 2014-15 campaign that saw Washington return to the playoffs, defeat the New York Islanders in round one, and then lose in painful fashion, in overtime, in game seven against the New York Rangers. The Capitals only allowed 13 goals in seven games, but could only muster 12 goals themselves and lost twice in overtime in the final three contests.

It was an awful defeat, they lost a three games to one series lead, but everyone knew that the main problem was the Capitals didn’t have enough talent up front to score consistently. The loss was rough, but things were rapidly moving in the right direction after utter chaos just a year earlier. My end of the season blog focused on the need to improve the top six forwards and sure enough, MacLellan pulled it off dealing Troy Brouwer for T.J. Oshie and signing Justin Williams to a two year free agent deal. Unfortunately, adding those guys and the need to pay goalie Braden Holtby what he was rightfully worth, put the team up against the salary cap. With it not possible to move Brooks Laich’s boat anchor of a contract in the summer, the team was forced to part ways with grinding forward Joel Ward and defensemen Mike Green, both key players on the squad that fell just short against the Rags. They were tough personnel losses to a team that had become super close.

But Oshie and Williams fit in perfectly and the Ward and Green losses faded to the back of everyone’s mind as the Capitals stormed out of the gate and blew the league away in the regular season pretty much clinching the Presidents’ Trophy by Valentine’s Day. Holtby was legendary in the cage and he tied the NHL single season victory total for a goalie with 48 (tied with hall of famer, Martin Brodeur). It was so much fun and the team seemed to get tighter as a unit as the season moved on. This was surely setting up to be the year for a Cup parade, but quietly the Pittsburgh Penguins were addressing some serious issues they had themselves.

They fired their coach, Mike Johnston, and replaced him with former Rangers assistant Mike Sullivan. But more importantly, general manager Jimmy Rutherford made some great moves to transform his roster. In the summer, he traded high draft picks to Toronto to acquire scoring winger Phil Kessel and he dumped the slow and plodding Brandon Sutter for speedy Nick Bonino. After the season began, he also swapped David Perron for super-fast Cap killer Carl Hagelin. Suddenly he had a line that could skate like the wind, but he still had issues on the back end. Rob Scuderi was old and slower than molasses, but Rutherford somehow convinced Stan Bowman, who is considered an excellent GM, to deal mobile defensemen Trevor Daley for the past his prime Scuderi. It was a fleecing or highway robbery of a deal, whatever you want to call it. From there the Penguins were the best team in the league from January on and Washington knew they’d have their hands full with them, at some point. The Caps had become somewhat complacent given their huge standings lead while Pittsburgh pressed madly to move up the standings after wallowing out of playoff position for much of the first 40 games.

While the Penguins were making all of these moves, MacLellan not only added Oshie and Williams, but he brought in Mike Richards as a depth center. That move was excellent and if not for some of Richards outstanding penalty killing skills, the Flyers might have won game six, as well as game two. Richards ability to read back door passes and get his stick in lanes on defense and while shorthanded was very much needed. The Caps suddenly were not only super on the power play, but also on the penalty kill.

With the Richards move, the Caps only real question marks appeared to be on defense. The loss of Green was a blow, no doubt, you don’t replace a player of that caliber easily, and the Caps plan, partly due to limited salary cap room, was to go with rookies Dmitry Orlov and Nate Schmidt on the back end as a third pairing. When Orpik was injured in early November with a cracked femur, suddenly those guys were forced to play more minutes than originally planned. They played well, too, perhaps clouding the judgement of the Capitals brass as the trade deadline approached. MacLellan did add Mike Weber as a depth defensemen and he somehow masterfully moved Laich out for an upgrade in forward Daniel Winnik. The move also freed up money on the current salary cap, but more importantly for 2016-17 when dollars would be needed to retain Marcus Johansson, who was having a career year, and others like Tom Wilson. Some wanted the Capitals to use that extra dough to acquire another defensemen given Oprik’s health issues and the lack of experience on the back end. Dan Hamhuis, among other experienced defensemen, were still out there reportedly to be had, but Washington passed.

After the trade deadline, at the WNST event with Coach Trotz on February 29th, I specifically asked him about the decision to go with the two players who had zero playoff experience on the back end.

“We talk about that, the blessing this year with Brooks being out for a long period of time, Dmitry Orlov and Nate Schmidt were in the lineup for 50 some games. We already know what they can do and it’s been really beneficial for us. I think by adding Mike Weber we’re eight deep at the NHL level,” explained Trotz on the rationale of where the organization stood on their blue line.

It seemed like a viable plan at the time and Weber certainly seemed like the type of guy who could fill in for an Orpik or even a Karl Alzner if there was an injury. But Oprik came back healthy down the stretch and despite the fact that Carlson missed 12 games with a cracked ankle/foot in March, the Caps only played Weber in 10 of the 21 contests that occurred before the post season began. Basically, the Capitals decided to ride Orlov, Schmidt and Taylor Chorney instead of Weber. #6 was a seven year veteran with more playoff experience (seven games) than the other three combined, but he spent most of the time in the press box becoming rusty. As anyone in hockey will tell you, performing in the regular season is one thing, but doing that in the playoffs is another story, so the Capitals were really taking a risk on the Orlov-Schmidt-Chorney trio.

When Orpik was concussed and injured his neck in game three against the Flyers, I remarked to MacLellan after that tilt that “this was the reason you went out and got Weber.” The GM seemed to nod his head in agreement, yet somehow it wasn’t until a series clinching victory in game six that Weber finally got a sweater for the Caps? The coaching staff went with Chorney over a more physical Weber against a chippy and dirty team like the Flyers. Weber, to that point, had never received the repetitions he really needed to play at a top four level that would be required when Orpik went down.

That leads me to where this season broke down. Yes, the Penguins were the faster team, but you can deter speed by keeping it to the outside and wearing it out with proper execution. The Bonino line, with seven goals, was the difference in the series and while they were fast, several of those goals came from right in front of the net following turnovers. Oprik’s terrible hit on Olli Maatta that took #3 out of three games and #44 too, as a result of a suspension, turned the entire series around, as well.  The Caps were flat the rest of game two and lost home ice. In game three, Schmidt made a costly turnover and then was manhandled in front by the small Hagelin for the eventual game winning goal. He would not play in two of the final three games. Orlov was benched for a game and the Caps only won once with Chorney in the lineup (game five of the Pens series). Weber did get a jersey for game four and played decently, but the game winning goal went off of his stick to Patrick Hornqvist and he was banished to the press box once again.

When Alzner’s groin, that he initially injured in the Flyers series, finally popped in game six, the Caps had little left on the back end other than Carlson and a tiring Niskanen, who played all 82 games and every playoff game with King Karl, to that point. After #27’s injury, Orpik took another awful penalty, a careless double minor for high sticking on Hornqvist with the puck 50 feet away in period two, and the Caps great penalty killing unit was suddenly forced to play both Chorney and Orlov in succession. Two goals in 29 seconds was the result and that put the Caps in a deep hole, 3-0. It was a terrible penalty that Orpik could not afford to take, once again, and it was especially bad knowing that Alzner was done for the game. In short, as much as I like Orpik and what he can bring to the Capitals, he had a nightmare 2015-16 season with his injuries and bad penalties. Simply put, the Penguins were faster, but they also were able to get to the front of the Capitals net, and most of those occasions came when members of the bottom half of the Washington defense were on the ice.

Now the encouraging part of the story is that this is where this Capitals teamed proved to be different.  Instead of folding tent like the 2009 Caps did in game seven against Pittsburgh when they went down 3-0, they fought back and forced overtime in game six showing tremendous fortitude and resolve. They probably should have won too, but failed to capitalize on a late power play that they received. At that juncture they seemed a little too comfortable at that moment at just being tied up, something that occurred too frequently during this season and in the Flyers series, as well.

On to overtime we went and the Capitals, who rode the top six forwards and Carlson and Niskanen on the back end heavily, were out of gas. Niskanen was forced to play with guys he wasn’t used to being paired with and miscommunication happened on the game winning tally, which was another goal that once again came from the doorstep on a rebound.

In a nutshell, the Capitals lost on their lack of defensive depth, something they thought they had, but really didn’t.  They put too much stock in the abilities of Orlov and Schmidt based on their regular season success and they failed to take advantage and develop or possibly misevaluated what Weber could bring to the lineup. It was a waste of a third round draft pick the way it all played out. The Penguins found their way through the Washington back end too easily and Holtby couldn’t prevent all of those second chance tallies.

In addition, their season long tendency to sit back and not take control of games cost them dearly. They didn’t attack in game two and show that killer instinct to seize a critical contest and the series. That lack of killer instinct also allowed a Kris Letang-less Penguins team to steal game four. The Pens gained confidence to win in those first 30 minutes when the Capitals needed to step on their throats and not allow them to believe they could prevail without their best defensemen. It was a major opportunity lost.

Finally, the Capitals loss of Ward took away a player who routinely went to the front of the net in the postseason to get ugly goals. Washington didn’t have much of that against the Penguins outside of a couple of Williams tallies (but one was with the goalie pulled). The Caps need their bottom six forwards to chip in with more greasy goals.

So where does that lead us heading in to 2016-17?

Obviously the team is extremely disappointed that they let a major chance to win a championship slip by once again. The lack of true defensive depth, killer instinct, and inability to add in some rebound goals was what ultimately cost them the series against what should become in June, the 2015-16 Stanley Cup winning Penguins.

Some will call for panic and to try to blow things up, like the San Jose Sharks nearly did following a loss to the Kings in 2014 after owning a 3-0 series lead. Two springs later, the Sharks are in the hunt for the Cup and credit for that goes to hanging on to their core, the addition of Ward up front, and bringing in Paul Martin on defense.

Washington needs to find a Paul Martin type on the back end because running out the same seven guys again, particularly the four after Carlson, Niskanen, and Alzner, carries significant risk.

Johansson will be the top offseason priority to sign to a long term deal. He’s a key piece to this team and had a remarkable regular and post season. He was one of the guys going to the net against the Flyers and scoring tough goals. He also brings a major element of speed.

Wilson is next on the priority list as a restricted free agent. #43 made significant contributions this year on the penalty kill and defensively. In some games, such as game five against the Penguins, he was a difference maker by drawing penalties and keeping the opponent out of the offensive zone. Still, he needs to develop his offensive skills so that he could possibly fill that Ward type of role in front of the net. His improvement is a must and the coaches need to aid that by playing him more. If they prefer not to do that or think he can’t do that, then a move is needed.

Orlov is a restricted free agent, as well, and he and Schmidt are similar players, along with Chorney. The Caps management team needs to determine if that is indeed the way to go to win a Stanley Cup on the back end. My recommendation would be to move at least one of them and upgrade the blue line, especially since Oprik is adding another year and he has an injury history.

Ovechkin is about to head into his 12^th season and the Capitals need to win soon (Steve Yzerman’s first Cup came in his 14^th season). The Gr8 was superb in these playoffs and downright dominant in several games, such as game five against the Penguins. Oshie, Williams, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Alzner are all free agents after next season and will require more dollars. Carlson has two more years to go at the deal of the century, a contract just under $4M per season. He was the Capitals best player in the post season and will command $7M plus in 2018-19.

Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky are two young players that had super regular seasons, but as a result of playing all 82 games, didn’t have the legs they had in 2015-16 when they were playoff difference makers. They need to learn from that and be better prepared physically next spring. They need to add strength and learn to get some ugly goals in front.

I typically wait several days before writing this blog to let the emotions of the playoff defeat die down, but I don’t think that will be possible this season. This was one tough loss and a major opportunity gone by the wayside. Everyone will feel the pain all summer and I certainly don’t want to be sitting here next season beginning my 2016-17 final blog with a 0 and 42 statistic.

I know the Capitals don’t want me to be doing so either.

Everything the Caps do between now and next April 15^th has to be about the playoffs and winning the Cup. The team is tight and the culture is strong, but they need to develop that killer instinct. In addition, the management needs to address the personnel short comings on defense and the coaching staff needs to be quicker to adjust when things aren’t working.

The last thing management needs to do is panic and make radical changes, this team is ultra close, but more is necessary to get over the hump.

So the time is now for the Capitals to start getting at next year and doing everything in their power to make sure no stone is left unturned and no holes are left exposed when injuries or uncomfortable situations present themselves in the spring of 2017 playoffs.

There were a lot of things to like from this team this year, but the ultimate prize was not captured and the season was a major disappointment, or a failure, as many players called it.

The clock is ticking.

They must end this awful postseason losing cycle once and for all.

With their season on the line, the Washington Capitals received huge performances from their stars in a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

Alex Ovechkin was an absolute beast in this contest with a goal and an assist, T.J. Oshie had the same, and Braden Holtby made 30 saves to force a game 6 at the Consol Energy Center on Tuesday at 8 pm.

Wow, what a hockey game!

Both teams left it all on the ice in this one and it was the battle of superb forechecks for the first 40 minutes. After a great start by the Caps, the Penguins put on a clinic with their 1-2-2 pressure forcing Washington into poor puck management and turnovers throughout the later half of the opening stanza. The shots on net were 12-4 for the Pens after 20 minutes, but shot attempts were 25-21 for Pittsburgh since the Capitals missed the net 10 times.

In the middle frame, the Caps did a better job of breaking out by swarming the puck and using the high glass or lob over the Penguins defense. That forced Pittsburgh to do more retreating and allowed the Capitals to carry the play. Washington out shot attempted the black and gold, 26-19, and took a 2-1 lead on Oshie’s rebound of another strong Ovechkin shot. Justin Williams then pounced on a Pens turnover and beat Matt Murray five hole to give the Caps their 1st two goal cushion of this series. The lead could’ve been extended more, but the Caps missed the net 12 additional times, including some great chances for Jason Chimera and Nicklas Backstrom.

In the third period the Capitals played smart using a 1-3-1 type of setup in the neutral zone and, as a result, Pittsburgh had to dump the puck in way more than they wanted. The Caps continued to swarm the loose biscuit and that helped them win a lot of the battles against a speedier team.

Pittsburgh didn’t have many quality chances in that last frame as the Caps played with desperation.

Desperation is what the Caps will continue to feel, because a Penguins victory on Tuesday closes this series out.

Pittsburgh got Kris Letang (30:11 of ice time) back after a one game suspension and his play stepping up in the neutral zone was a big factor early.

The Caps, however, will get Brooks Orpik back on Tuesday after his three game suspension. His veteran leadership and presence should help stabilize a Washington back end that has made too many big mistakes in this series.

On Saturday night though, the Caps defensemen were very solid and the only goal allowed by Washington was while they were shorthanded.

The Capitals received stellar goaltending from the Holtbeast, including back to back huge stops on Patrick Hornqvist (pad save) and Justin Schultz (glove save) late in period two. #70 was dialed in, like his teammates, and they’ll need to be in game six.

Pittsburgh still is in the driver’s seat in this series since the Caps have no margin for error. However, coming into game five, Pittsburgh was 8-0 lifetime against Washington in previous such occasions.

Washington will need to bring their best game if they want to have a chance at extending the series, once again.

Desperation, that’s what every Capitals player has to bring to every battle on every shift on Tuesday night.

Notes: Matt Niskanen led the Caps in ice time with 27:28. He was outstanding, along with Karl Alzner (25:02). John Carlson had an assist in 24:50. He was dominant, as well…final shot attempts were 69-58 for the Penguins, but that was due to 3rd period score effects…Tom Wilson only played 7:20, but he drew a key slashing penalty on Ian Cole that led to Oshie’s PPG. Willy also was super on the PK and late in regulation. The Caps were 2 for 5 with the man advantage while the Penguins went 1 for 2.

Instead of losing a three games to one series lead this spring, the Washington Capitals will have to find a way to rally to win one.

Patrick Hornqvist’s goal just 2:36 in overtime off of a Mike Weber failed clear allowed the Penguins to seize a 3-2 victory in a thrilling contest and put them on the brink of the Eastern Conference Finals with just one more victory over the Caps.

The Penguins, who were playing without top defensemen Kris Letang, put together a spirited effort and gave Washington big problems with their speed through the neutral zone in the first 30 minutes to take a 2-1 lead after Jay Beagle’s early marker made it 1-0 Capitals.

Pittsburgh was given pretty much no chance to win before the game by Mike Milbury on NBC, but they amped up their physical play and did a much better job of their zone exits in period one and for the first half of period two. Washington had too many struggles coming out of their own zone and they were on their heels for much of the first 30 minutes.

Braden Holtby (30 saves) made some big stops to keep it a 2-1 game and then the Caps started playing to their strengths, which was keeping the puck on the walls and cycling the smaller Pens. Justin Williams made a great play in the corner and he fed John Carlson for a brilliant tally with 3:41 to go in the middle frame to tie the game.

A nerve racking third period, in which the Penguins received the only power play, yielded no goals. The Caps did a great job of killing off a high sticking penalty by Karl Alzner on Sidney Crosby with 3:38 to go, allowing no shots on the Holtbeast.

In overtime, Mike Richards had a great chance to win it, but Matt Murray (34 saves) came up large once again setting the stage for the misplay by Weber and an easy marker for Hornqvist.

This was one tough way to lose again for Washington.

They didn’t play with the passion and sense of urgency we saw on Monday night when they dominated in a 3-2 loss, instead they looked nervous and out of sync too often for the first half of this game. That is certainly a surprise, given what was at stake and the loss of Letang for Pittsburgh.

So now the Caps get two days off to regroup and game five will be at the Verizon Center on Saturday night at 7:15 pm. Letang will be back in the lineup for the Pens while Brooks Oprik is still out another game. Washington needs to examine what they are doing well and doing poorly, then adjust accordingly. The Penguins clearly made the changes they needed after getting dominated, yet winning, in game three and it showed early on. That gave the Penguins the confidence to win without their best defensemen. A big part of that was their effort. They routinely out worked the Capitals in the first 30 minutes.

All four games so far have been one goal tilts, so the margin between victory and defeat has been ever so slight. Murray has been great in net for the Penguins and the Caps have had too many defensive gaffes to maintain momentum and pressure on Pittsburgh.

Simply put, the Capitals must come out on Saturday night and focus on one shift at a time and play each like it’s potentially their last game of the season. Thinking about winning three in a row puts you in the wrong mindset. They just have to play with the passion and energy they had on Monday night, but eliminate those glaring mistakes.

If they don’t, it’s golf time.

Notes: John Carlson logged a game high 30:15…the Caps won the shot attempts battle, 69-61…Alex Ovechkin had seven shots on goal in 21:16 of ice time…Daniel Winnik missed the remainder of period two after taking a high hit at the blue line from Evgeni Malkin. Former NHL referee Kerry Fraser, via Twitter, thought charging should’ve been called on #71. Winnik did come back for some shifts in the 3rd period…Crosby left for some of the third period after an Ovechkin slash to #87’s hands, but returned…the Caps won the face off battle, 40-36. Evgeny Kuznetsov went 12-6…the Penguins went 0 for 4 on the power play while the Caps went 0 for 2…the Caps were out hit, 47-41.

Very much like in game five against the Flyers in round one, the Hockey Gods were not on the Capitals side on Monday night in game three in Pittsburgh.

Washington threw 85 shot attempts at the Penguins and Matt Murray stopped 47 of the 49 shots on goal while Pittsburgh was opportunistic on their chances (they only had 36 shot attempts), and lucky, to hold on for a 3-2 victory. The Pens now lead the best of seven series, two games to one.

This was one heck of a hockey game and an outstanding effort from the Capitals.

Unfortunately, they made some critical mistakes that caused the first three pucks to go into their net, none of which you can put on Braden Holtby (20 saves on 23 shots). On the first goal, a puck deflected high in the sky in the Washington zone and the Caps had a hard time finding it. That allowed Trevor Daley to get the puck and fire it on net. Patrick Hornqvist was alone in the high slot screening while Sidney Crosby was battling both Mike Richards and Matt Niskanen in front of the Holtbeast. Hornqvist makes a great tip and Holtby never sees it. Sure, it was a bit of a lucky bounce that got the Pens the puck, but the Caps coverage was terrible, particularly the left wing on the play, who should‘ve immediately moved to take Daley. If he does that, Daley likely doesn’t get the puck nor does he have such a great lane to move to the center of the ice and fire away.

On the second goal, yes, that’s a lucky bounce off of the back of Tom Kuhnhackl, but the Washington forward fails to cut off the Kris Letang stretch pass in the neutral zone and that gives Matt Cullen a lane to the net and creates a two on one.

That’s two good bounces for Pittsburgh, but let’s be honest, the Caps put themselves in position for the lucky bounces to burn them. They must clean that up the rest of this series.

On the third Penguins goal, in period two, the Washington defensemen makes a soft play in the corner and crazily fires the puck into the slot. Nick Bonino easily picks it off and Holtby does his best to delay him from scoring, but the Caps defender who turned the puck over then gets outmuscled by Carl Hagelin in front for what proved to be the winning goal.

The Caps were really carrying the play from the start of the game, but they were down three pucks because of BIG MISTAKES. Two goal holes are usually manageable, but the third one really was the dagger on this night. Not a good play at all by the Washington defensemen.

Murray continued to be stellar in net and a Caps furious rally, which started with Alex Ovechkin’s laser over the goalie’s shoulder at 8:02 of the final frame, nearly was completed. Justin Williams tallied with Holtby pulled with 55 ticks left and then Marcus Johansson nearly tied it in the dying seconds, but he shot wide after a brilliant set up from Ovechkin.

The Gr8 was an absolute beast in this one. He was the best skater on the ice. He had a goal, an assist, seven shots on goal, 18 shot attempts, and nine hits in 24:21 of ice time! Unbelievable!

Sadly, as Coach Barry Trotz will tell you, there is only one stat that matters though, the scoreboard, and it read 3-2, bad guys.

It was a disappointing loss for Washington in that they played well for large portions of this game. They had 58 hits to just 25 for the Penguins and they had the puck the entire game. They played with desperation and passion. In addition to cleaning up the mistakes, they need to maintain their discipline a bit more and their power play needs to convert. I’d like to see more shots coming from the middle of the ice with traffic with that unit.

Discipline is going to be paramount moving forward. With Brooks Orpik getting three games for his hit to the head on Olli Maatta after game two, there was a standard set by the league that those type of hits, late and to the head, would not be tolerated. A three game suspension is huge for the playoffs, but Orpik took it like a man and a team leader, while Coach Trotz agreed with a suspension, too. However, he did take issue with the length of it. Good cop, bad cop, that’s the way that has to play out, right?

Well, now the league has another issue to deal with on Tuesday. With the Pens up 2-0 late in the opening frame, Letang stupidly launches himself into Johansson’s head after the puck was long gone as #90 crosses the blue line. Jojo went down and a two minute penalty was called on #58. Marcus would leave the game and go through the concussion protocol, but somehow he wasn’t concussed and just had neck issues from the whiplash of the hit, which started at the chin area. It is a hit, like Oprik’s, that needs to be out of the game. I’d expect Letang to be suspended and the league will look like hypocrites if it is not the same or very close (two games) to the Orpik penalty of three tilts.

Overall, the Caps did a lot of super things in this game. They played with the energy they need to bring to win for all 60 minutes, they just need to be smarter in their own zone and stay out of the box. The best way to retaliate to stupid or dirty plays by Pittsburgh, like the slash by Chris Kunitz to the chest of Justin Williams that had #14 in pain, is to stay composed, stick to the game plan and their structure, and put the biscuit in the basket.

Chasing for revenge is just wasted energy.

The Caps showed on Monday night that when they put their collective minds to it and bring the passion, they can dominate the game. They’ll absolutely have to bring that effort, with a stronger commitment to avoiding the big mistakes in their own end in game four, if they want to avoid a three to one games hole.

Notes: Game four is Wednesday at 8 pm from Pittsburgh; game five will be at 7:15 on Saturday night at the Verizon Center…Bryan Rust took a shot to the leg and played just 19 seconds…Letang logged 27:57 of ice time. He blocked five shots. Overall, the Pens blocked 19 Capitals shots…John Carlson led the Caps in ice time with 27:59. He had an assist and eight shots on net…Marc Andre-Fleury was the back up for Pittsburgh, so his concussion issues appear to be over.

The Washington Capitals failed in their bid to preserve home ice advantage as Eric Fehr’s tip in with 4:28 remaining in regulation won game two for the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-1, to tie up this best of seven series.

There is no sugar coating this one, the Caps totally stunk for the first 40 minutes. They weren’t dominated because of the Penguins speed, as you might have thought, no, it was a function of a lousy work ethic and sloppy execution. Passes weren’t on the mark, especially at the Pittsburgh blue line, and that allowed the Pens to get to the loose pucks quicker and resulted in superior possession for the visitors through 40 minutes. Shot attempts were an astounding 63-25 after two periods and in the second frame, it was 38-13 for the black and gold.

That’s just pitiful.

Amazingly, the Capitals were only down a goal, thanks to Braden Holtby (33 saves), who was stellar in the cage once again. Additionally, the Caps penalty killing unit was excellent holding Pittsburgh to zero for five on the power play after 40 minutes. The problem there is that Washington took too many penalties, some of which were warranted, like Brooks Orpik’s interference on Olli Maatta just 4:13 into the game and the Caps bench minor for too many dudes. Orpik, who knocked Maatta from the contest with the head shot, will likely get a call from the league and may be suspended for game three, so Mike Weber needs to be ready. The other problem was that Maatta was looking like he was in over his head in game one so Washington took a Pens defensemen out of the lineup that they picked on miserably, and with success, in the series opener.

I was not a fan of the holding call on Taylor Chorney in the corner (looked like that should have fallen under the Brian Burke bear hug rule to me) and the goalie interference on Evgeny Kunzetsov that wiped out Nate Schmidt’s apparent goal was a complete joke. Afterwards, Coach Barry Trotz was not happy with that call either, saying it was clearly incidental contact (Pens goalie Matt Murray (23 saves) uses his stick paddle to take Kuzy down) and that he would’ve been okay with no goal, but to put #92 in the box was not right, in his eyes. The coach is correct, but referee Dan O’Halloran is known to be one to put the Caps on lots of penalty killing situations in the playoffs (see game two against the Rangers last spring). How is he still reffing games while Dave Jackson is done for the playoffs?

Officiating aside, the Capitals were “getting embarrassed out there” as Justin Williams called it, for the first 40 minutes. There is no excuse to have such a terrible effort in a playoff game on home ice. Sure the Penguins were going to be more desperate down a game, but if you are a team that wants to win it all, you can’t have those types of lapses and gift away a game with a poor work ethic that leads to horrendous execution.

On the positive side, the Holtbeast was able to keep the Caps just a puck down and they finally started playing their game in the final frame. In the third period, Washington out shot attempted the Pens, 25-16, and they tied the game on one of their only two power plays when Marcus Johansson put home the rebound of a John Carlson point shot. That goal came just 4:08 into the period and the Capitals carried play for several minutes afterwards. Mike Richards seemingly had the game on his stick for the win with just over five minutes left after a great feed from behind the net by Jason Chimera, but somehow he missed wide. #10 wanted to smash his stick as he headed to the bench for a change, but he managed to hold it together. It was a big opportunity missed, then the Capitals had a turnover followed by a miscommunication in their own end that allowed Evgeni Malkin to scoop up the loose biscuit and fire it towards the net. Fehr got his stick on the puck before Orpik, and it went up over Holtby and in the corner of the net.

So now the series shifts back to Pittsburgh on Monday and Wednesday for games 3 and 4, respectively. The Caps have had too many bad periods so far in this series, four by my count, out of seven total. That’s not going to cut it, so this club needs to be the more aggressive team and dictate the play going forward. No more sitting back and trying to take punches before reacting. They need to get rid of the blue line turnovers and find ways to get pucks deep on the Pens. That should allow their fore check to start working, instead of vice versa. Pittsburgh won on Saturday because of the mistakes the Caps made, not because of the Penguins speed.

That is what is disappointing, the Capitals did this too themselves, and there is no excuse to be doing that at this juncture of the season.

Notes: the 8 pm start was really an 8:30 one due to the delay for the NHL draft lottery, which was won by the Toronto Maple Leafs. So Auston Matthews, the kid from the desert, will be in the Big Smoke next season…the Caps dominated the Pens from the dot, 44-26. Nicklas Backstrom was 18-2…Kris Letang played 35:22 for Pittsburgh to lead all players, but it was his tripping infraction on Williams that set up the Caps power play goal…John Carlson led the Caps in ice time with 26:47, but he was on for both goals against, along with Orpik…the Caps did have several quality chances in this one, Chimera hit a post, and Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin (only 3 shots on goal) were both stopped in front by Murray, to name a few. The best quality chance was the Richards one, though, and that miss proved very costly…Dmitry Orlov, who played less than six minutes in game one, was scratched.

T.J. Oshie’s wrap around, hat trick completing goal 9:33 into overtime gave the Washington Capitals a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in game one of their best of seven series that began at the Verizon Center on Thursday night.

Wow, what a hockey game!

The pace to this one was incredible and if you took your eyes off of the play for even a second, you probably missed a scoring chance. The Penguins are as good as advertised, they play fast and they continually go for the long pass to try and take advantage of their jet like speed.

On the flip side, the Caps want to play a much more deliberate game and force the Pens to deal with Washington’s superior size.

It was an epic battle and both teams, in the opening salvo, had their periods where they dominated the play.

Pittsburgh was really good in period two and stronger in period three, while the Caps, after a shaky first two to three minutes, owned the first period and the overtime.

Fittingly, shot attempts ended up 77-76 for the Pens, so it shows you just how close this contest was. In the opening frame, the Caps played their brand of heavy hockey doling out 17 hits to just seven for the Penguins, this occurred while Washington had a 32-22 shot attempt advantage and a one goal lead. The Caps tally came on a three on one rush when Andre Burakovsky buried the rebound of a Jason Chimera shot.

But something happened on the way to the forum in period two. Pittsburgh continued to attempt their stretch passes and the Capitals didn’t help themselves by committing too many turnovers. As a result, the Pens scored two goals in less than a minute just past the game’s midpoint to seemingly take over, with the second being an all world top shelf backhander from Evgeni Malkin. Washington was getting outskated and they were struggling to handle the Pens speed and pressure, at that point. But Oshie made a great play to get around Olli Maatta shortly after a defensive zone draw and #77 raced in alone on Matthew Murray (31 saves) and beat him short side, top shelf just 33 seconds after the black and gold had seized a one goal lead. Coach Barry Trotz stated afterwards that the Oshie goal was huge in terms of getting his club to settle down.

In the third period, Oshie struck again, this time on the backhand, after Alex Ovechkin (1 assist, 4 shots on goal, and seven hits in 25:01) made a nice play to get him the puck. That was just 3:23 into the final frame, but once again turnovers did the Capitals in and Nick Bonino, who was the best Penguin on the ice, snapped one by Braden Holtby (42 saves) following a defensive zone giveaway with 11:18 remaining in regulation. From there the teams traded chances, with Ovechkin nearly scoring on a backhand move with just over three minutes to go, but Murray made a super pad save.

In the overtime, the Caps really amped their game up and carried the play, out shot attempting the Penguins, 15-8. Washington did a super job of getting pucks deep and putting a strong forecheck on the Pens defense, and that allowed them to keep the biscuit in the offensive zone until Oshie was able to close the deal and give the Caps the early lead in this series.

Again, wow, this was one heck of a hockey game!

Both teams really brought it and I see this potentially being a battle for the ages. The Caps need to do a better job with their puck management in game two and they also need to bring the body more. Coach Barry Trotz commented afterwards that he thought his club played lighter than he wanted in periods two and three.

The Holtbeast was a also a difference maker stopping 42 of 45 shots. Washington would like to cut that shots against number significantly down in game two, which would indicate more of a grinding style that better suits their personnel.

One thing is for certain, game two will not be a boring one. The Penguins will attempt to do whatever they can to steal a game on the road while the Capitals try to hold serve at a raucous Verizon Center.

Notes: Kris Letang led both teams in ice time with 34:02. He had an assist on Malkin’s goal, doled out seven hits and blocked three shots…Washington’s ice time leaders were Matt Niskanen (32:13) and John Carlson (29:49). Both are rock stars on the back end. Karl Alzner logged 27:56 and Brooks Orpik returned from injury to play 25:56. Nate Schmidt (-2) and Dmitry Orlov (-1), were used sparingly and played just 12:13 and 5:44, respectively. Coach Trotz was clearly not happy with Orlov’s play on the first Pens tally. #9 was abused by Bonino at the blue line and then he knocked Schmidt out of the play allowing Ben Lovejoy to get an easy rebound marker…the Caps lost the face off battle, 46-39. Mike Richards, who centered Burakovsky and Chimera, was 12-5 while Jay Beagle went 12-7. Nicklas Backstrom (+2) was 7-20 and most of those were against Sidney Crosby (19-9)…Oshie and Ovechkin were both +3…game two is at 8 pm on Saturday night at the Verizon Center.

It is not how you start, it is how you finish.

On Tuesday night at the Verizon Center, the Washington Capitals came out sluggish and dug a 2-0 hole just 23:45 into this contest. The Caps were not skating at all and were not physically or mentally engaged in the game. As a result their gap control was terrible and the speedy Penguins took advantage of the space they were allowed on the ice.

But everything changed on the shift after the Peter Hornqvist tally, as Coach Barry Trotz shuffled the deck and put Mike Richards out with Tom Wilson and Jason Chimera to try and generate some much needed energy. Boy did it pay off as those guys were all over Pittsburgh and with #43 creating havoc in front, Richards notched his second goal of the season with a shot that Pens goalie Matthew Murray (34 saves) never saw just 39 seconds after it was 2-0. Afterwards, Richards said the goal belonged to Wilson, because he thought Willy tipped it, but regardless of that, the Caps were back in the game and they came to life with a vengeance.

For the final 35+ minutes this was mostly heavy hockey by the Caps. They were slow out of the gates due to no practice on Monday and it looked even worse with the Pens having played on Monday in a 6-0 rout of Arizona. In typical fashion, the Capitals started tilting the ice with their physical play and later in the period Justin Williams came down the left wing, kept his feet moving, and wrapped a puck around the right wing side of the Pens cage. Evgeny Kuznetsov had alertly positioned himself in front of the net and he whacked the biscuit home to tie the game up, with 3:57 left in period two, and totally ignited the Verizon Center crowd.

From there the Caps continued to pressure Pittsburgh. As expected, with the Pens having played the night before and Washington possessing a deeper and more physical team, the Capitals carried the play in the last 20 minutes and would win the game on the power play.

Evgeni Malkin high sticked T.J. Oshie in the neutral zone and that set up the #1 ranked unit in the league for a man advantage with 7:15 remaining. Pittsburgh, according to Matt Niskanen, became focused on shadowing Alex Ovechkin, and that allowed Nicklas Backstrom to feed #2 for three straight blasts from the point with traffic in front. As they say, the third time is a charm, and Niskanen’s rocket found the back of the cage. Following the game, the unselfish defensemen stated that Oshie had tipped the puck and deserved the goal.

So that’s two goals for Washington in which the official goal scorer said it wasn’t his goal. That’s a team that plays for each other and one that only cares about one thing, winning. This club has great team chemistry.

Winning is what they did as they held Sidney Crosby (1 assist) to no shots on goal and improved to 46-12-4 (96 points). With 20 games remaining they have yet to lose back to back tilts in regulation and the rest of the league remains in their dust.

As for Oshie, well he is one tough son of a gun. He took a knee on knee hit from Crosby and had to leave for a couple of shifts, he was trucked in the neutral zone by Ovechkin, and he also got clipped up high by Malkin to set up the winning power play sequence. You’d think a guy that was banged up that physically in this contest would spend the rest of the night staying on the perimeter, right? No, not Oshie, he was right there in front, doing what is necessary, to score or at least help score the game winning goal. Simply put, Oshie eats rocks for breakfast.

Wilson was outstanding in this contest and he was a big reason the game changed. #43 was flying around and scaring Penguins players while staying in control. He was simply unmanageable by the Pittsburgh defense for the final 35+ minutes.

All three Capitals goals were scored in front via hard work plays to get the puck to the prime scoring area while other teammates worked hard to battle in front to make the job for Murray, who played very well, extremely difficult.

When the Penguins did get a chance late, and Carl Hagelin had a golden opportunity with 33 seconds left, Braden Holtby (28 saves) came up with a big and sassy glove save to deny one of Washington’s biggest rivals. The Holtbeast now has 40 wins this season and is closing in on Martin Brodeur’s NHL record of 48 victories in a regular season.

Bottom line, though, this Caps team, that is still missing John Carlson, is deep and can wear their opponents down and agonizingly take hockey games from you.

They are a force to be reckoned with when they are focused.

The Penguins learned that, once again, on Tuesday night.

Notes: Mike Weber made his Caps debut and logged 12:24 on defense, paired mostly with Nate Schmidt. He blocked a team leading five shots…Niskanen led the Caps in ice time, at 24:26…Washington won the face off battle, 30-25. Backstrom was 11-9…the Caps had 32 hits to just 19 for the Pens…Washington outshot the Pens 37-30. Shot attempts were 64-58 for the Penguins. Washington dug a big first period hole in shot attempts with their poor play…the Caps will face Brooks Laich and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night at the Verizon Center at 7 pm. Philipp Grubauer will be in net. Daniel Winnik, who was acquired in the Laich trade, arrived in town on Tuesday and should be in the lineup on the fourth line against the Leafs.

It’s the greatest time of the year for hockey fans with the Stanley Cup Playoffs commencing this week.

Locally, after missing the post season a year ago and subsequently firing their General Manager and Head Coach, the Washington Capitals return to what will be a two month grind for two teams with a strong squad and major cause for optimism.

The Caps took second place in the Metropolitan Division with 101 points and gained home ice against their first round opponent, the New York Islanders, who also had 101 points, by virtue of a 2-0-2 head to head record.

At this point, I’d expect many long time Capitals fans to “duck and cover” given Washington’s 1-5 all time playoffs series record against the guys in blue and orange. Sure the last time they met was in 1993, but when it comes to the playoffs, New York has pretty much owned the Caps, although nearly every series has been close.

This spring’s series promises to be another close affair, especially since these two clubs played three overtime games this season. I’ll have my series preview up on Monday night in plenty of time for Wednesday’s opener at the Verizon Center at 7 pm.

The previous six Caps-Isles series don’t really matter to any of these players, since it’s been 22+ years since they occurred. But for the Washington fans, they have to feel like the Capitals might finally be due to win, right?

So with that in mind, here’s a recap of the previous six Caps-Islanders series with my take on each, since I was either viewing as a fan, covering it for the PG Post Sentinel, or working for the Capitals in my role as team statistician (1987-1997). I hope you enjoy a trip down memory lane, despite the five unhappy endings.

1982-83 Patrick Division Semifinals (1^st Round): Islanders win series, 3-1.

This was the season the Capitals made their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a marvelous first season under GM David Poile and the Secretary of Defense, Rod Langway. Unfortunately the Caps ran into the best team in hockey that year as the Islanders would go on to win their 4^th consecutive Stanley Cup. This was a total mismatch series, but Washington did win game two on Long Island, 4-2, as Bob Gould scored the game winner. That’s about all to remember about that series.

1983-84 Patrick Division Finals (2^nd Round): Islanders win series, 4-1.

Washington won their first playoff series ever in the opening round literally punching the Philadelphia Flyers in the mouth in a three game series sweep. Bob Carpenter and Mike Gartner were terrific and each beat up a Sutter brother (Rich and Ron) in a Washington 5-1 triumph in game three. That brought them the aging but still four time Stanley Cup Champions in round two. The Caps came out strong in the series and won game one, 3-2, at Nassau Coliseum and had a great chance to win game two, only to lose in overtime, 5-4. With game 3 at the Capital Centre, a super Caps team played New York tight but the game and the series turned on a penalty call on Carpenter, who was sent to the box for illegal equipment, he had a hole in his glove! That was against the rules (Never, never..) and the Capitals, who were carrying the play, gave up a power play goal and didn’t recover. They lost, 3-1, in game three and were beaten soundly in games four and five. The Islanders would go on to the Stanley Cup Finals, but Wayne Gretzky and company took them out in five games to win their first Cup. That sent the Islanders dynasty, which received a shot in the arm with the arrival of rookie Pat Lafontaine in the spring, on its first step towards a decline that would eventually lead to a rebuild.

1984-85 Patrick Division Semifinals (1^st round): Islanders win series, 3-2.

This was the beginning of the Capitals penchant for blowing two game series leads. The Caps won two razor close tilts at the Capital Centre, in overtime, to take a 2-0 lead. Alan Haworth beat Billy Smith in game one and then Gartner came down the right wing and beat Kelly Hrudey early in the second OT of game two. The series moved to the Nassau Coliseum and after losing game three, 2-1, the Caps had a chance to tie game four late when the Islanders knocked the net off with the puck in the crease. Carpenter was given a penalty shot and he missed sending the series back to Landover. The Caps were super in game five that was officiated by Bryan Lewis, much to the chagrin of many unhappy Washington fans. This was the peak of the “clutch and grab” era and the Capitals felt that Lewis allowed the Isles to slow down a faster and younger Caps team with those tactics. However, the Capitals still dominated play and the shot totals, but Smith was in the zone in net. In fact, the Capitals could still be trying to get the tying tally on the crazy net minder and they probably still wouldn’t score. Smith stoned Washington as the Isles got two pucks past Pat Riggin to win, 2-1.

1985-86 Patrick Division Semifinals (1^st round): Washington wins series, 3-0.

This season is still one of the most painful for me to think about because it was really a year in which the Caps had a great chance to win the Cup. The two time defending champion Oilers would get knocked out in the second round by the Flames when Steve Smith put the puck in his own net in game seven and the Canadiens, riding a rookie goalie named Patrick Roy, would go on to defeat the Flames in the Finals. The Caps had a GREAT team that season. At the time they had a club record 107 regular season points (no three point games then!) and were really loaded from top to bottom with the biggest weakness being goaltending. Scott Stevens was a dominant defensemen in the league at the age of 22 and with Langway and future hall of famer Larry Murphy on the back end, the Caps were scary good. Unfortunately, the Capitals headed into that post season without one of their top offensive players, Bengt Gustafsson. Dennis Potvin had broken the leg of Gus on a dirty check in a game in March and #16 was out for the season. I think of that cheap shot every time I hear New York Rangers fans yell their favorite chant: “Potvin [stinks].” But even without Gus, the Caps were too much for the Islanders and the Capitals swept New York handily. Unfortunately bad Caps goaltending and John Vanbiesbrouck did in the Caps in round two. Again, that season end still really stings nearly 30 years later.

1986-87 Patrick Division Semifinals (1^st round): Islanders win series, 4-3.

Leave it to the Caps to be the first team to blow a 3-1 series lead in the new playoff format which was instituted that season. The NHL finally got smart and went away from the five game first round, which was four games in five nights, and moved to a seven game opening round series. Naturally, Washington raced out to a 3-1 series lead, in what still entailed a four game in five night format. The game four win came on the night when Larry Mize chipped in on Greg Norman to win the Green Jacket, I clearly remember watching his hole out from the Isles press room, but I digress.

For some reason, Caps Coach Bryan Murray chose to play Pete Peeters at home after Bob Mason had stoned the Islanders in games three and four in the Nassau Coliseum. Mason gave up one goal in those two games to stake Washington to that 3-1 series lead. Peeters would allow four pucks to the Islanders as they won game five at the Capital Centre and then Hrudey held on against a furious Caps late rally to win game six, 5-4. Hrudey and Mason would battle in the epic four overtime thriller at the Capital Centre in a game that extended into Easter Sunday. As a Caps statistician, I was keeping Islanders time on ice that night by hand (we didn’t have software to do the visitors ice time by computer yet) and after the second overtime Murray told me to stop keeping it, he said it didn’t matter anymore! Anyways, I remember Caps defensemen Greg Smith hitting the cross bar in the first overtime and then he ended up fracturing his knee cap in a later period to end his season. The Islanders would win on Lafontaine’s shot off of the post. Hrudey was the other big hero stopping 70+ shots. Mason was super, but Hrudey was better that night. Many new hockey fans were made around the country that evening and early morning as the game seemed to go on forever.

1992-93 Patrick Division Semifinals (1^st Round): Islanders win series, 4-2

The Islanders made the post season after missing the two previous years and were led back that season by 23 year old Pierre Turgeon, who scored an astounding 132 points, including 58 goals. He was their best player and certainly played well in the series. After the Caps won game one, 3-1, in dominating fashion, New York would win the next three games in extra time, with two of the goals coming in double overtime. In game two at the Capital Centre, Brian Mullen tallied at 34:50, then in games three and four it was Ray Ferraro, at 4:46 and 25:40 to give the Islanders a 3-1 series lead. The Caps blew 3-1 leads in the third period in both of those tilts. In one of those two games on Long Island, the Caps would have been up by a bigger margin, but Terry Gregson mistakenly wiped out a Capitals goal calling goalie interference on Todd Krygier when replays showed Glenn Healy was hit by the stick of his own player. It was bad zebras that night, but mostly bad goaltending in the series for Washington as Rick Tabarcci was terrible when the pressure came on in the third period. Dale Hunter and Al Iafrate carried the Caps in this series, especially in game five. Iafrate would score six goals in the series, but Don Beaupre was terrible in game six on Long Island and the series ended when Turgeon scored late. I was working the computer that night and I can still vividly recall Capitals statistician lead Mike Herr telling me “goal,” with a slight pause and then the words “and a cheap shot by Hunts.” We all remember that one and Dale would be suspended for the first 20 games of the 1993-94 season because of that move that separated Turgeon’s shoulder. On our way out of the Nassau Coliseum, which was my last visit to that barn, our Capitals team buses were pelted with rocks. On the plane ride home, a bewildered Iafrate wandered up to talk to me and said, “Hey Eddie, how did we lose that series?” I just shook my head.

So there you have it, a little history lesson on the Capitals-Islanders playoff series. It’s 5-1 in favor of New York. So are the Capitals finally due to win one?