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As a result, the Caps lost four of the last five games of the series, including a 5-0 whitewashing on home ice in the series finale, and their season is over. Afterwards, Ovechkin told Slava Malamud of Soviet Express that he wasn’t close to 100%, which was no surprise to several of us who cover the team throughout the year. Apparently the injury occurred before the playoffs and it was made known to me that the Gr8 played through injuries much of the season. But that is hockey and injuries are no excuse for losing the series. Neither are the referees, as bad as they were in some of the games.

Where did the Caps fail to win this series? Well it started in game three when they put three pucks past Henrik Lundqvist, but due to penalty trouble and mostly shoddy defensive zone play, they lost 4-3. In game four, they played poorly in their own end again and it cost them despite getting three more goals on King Henrik.

After that, the Swedish goalie was extremely difficult to beat giving up two goals in game five in a Rangers overtime loss and then none over the last 120 minutes of the series. Lundqvist, who was playing so well that the Caps went into overpass mode, and the Capitals defensive miscues did Washington in.

The Caps won the faceoff battle in game seven, like they needed to, 38-26, and they outshot the Rangers pretty handidly (35-27 in shots on net and 79-47 in shot attempts). They even got off to a good start with coach Adam Oates calling it the best the team had in five games. But they failed to get a puck by Lundqvist and when Mike Green got caught in the offensive zone trying to score, the Rangers broke back 4 on 3. Jack Hillen then made a defensive mistake by going down to block fourth liner Aaron Asham’s shot and as a result, Braden Holtby didn’t get a good look at the slapper and it went in the net. That gave the Rangers momentum and when they pumped in two goals early in the second frame as a result of point shots that bounced around, it was all over. Holtby lost his confidence and you could see the wind come out of Washington’s sails.

It was another tough end to a Capitals season and they drop to 2-7 on home ice in game seven’s and 3-9 overall in the final game of best of seven series’.

This one stings but given where the team started, at 2-8-1, it is pretty amazing they made it this far. Ovechkin, Green, and Holtby, for the most part, carried this club to the postseason and a series lead, but they didn’t have enough to get over the hump. The Rangers played better defense and had excellent goaltending and that’s why they won.

Once again Caps fans will ponder the what ifs and in a couple of days we’ll be talking about next season, which will be here before we know it.

But being a Caps fan seems to always end with heartbreak in the spring and this year is no different.

Still, it could be worse on this night, you could be a Leafs fan.

Notes: Ovechkin told Malamud that he did what was needed to play from a medical standpoint…Green took the loss especially hard and had a tough time talking with the media but kudos to him and just about every other player for not dodging the loss and answering the difficult questions…after the series ending handshake the Capitals players, at centre ice, saluted the remaining fans thanking them for their support this season.

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If you don’t know what I’m doing with the first sentence, get up on your commercials.

The Washington Capitals will need all of the support they can get tonight  as they hope to defeat the New York Rangers in game seven.

Game six was a contest where neither side really stood out. The Rangers didn’t do anything extremely creative offensively, much like the Caps. The physical game was fairly even on both sides. The goaltending was outstanding for both hockey clubs.

While the Rangers did have a distinct advantage in faceoffs, the area that stood out once again were powerplay opportunities.

5-0 in favor of the Rangers. 15-5 in favor of the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. 26-14 in favor of New York throughout the series.

I’m not one to single out officiating as a reason why a team is being defeated, but there have been some “noticeable” differences in how the game has been called away from Verizon Center.

While the Rangers scored the lone goal of the game at full strength, the Capitals have something to gripe about in regards to the officiating.

Constantly being on the penalty kill limits opportunities for your offensive stars like Alexander Ovechkin to not only showcase their skills by getting on the ice, but it also holds the Capitals back from ever creating opportunities on their own powerplay — where they were No. 1 in the league with a 26.8% success rate during the regular season.

That being said, as much as the Capitals have played man-down in this series, they have to stay aggressive and cease the tentative nature they have been forced to play with in this series.

Eric Fehr is a guy to watch in tonight’s game.

The third line player has been one that has stayed aggressive on each forecheck, backcheck and shift that he has been on. Whether it has been man-down, full strength or the powerplay, Fehr seems to always try to get involved in the action. He will be instrumental in bringing this team’s energy up, especially after losing a tough one yesterday.

Playing aggressive also forces the action on the Rangers. When team’s are allowed to dictate the pace of the game to their liking, the opposition tends to fall flat on their face and commit a penalty.

Taking more shots always helps. Taking them from anywhere helps too.

Whenever there is traffic in front of the net, the Caps have to be more willing to let the cannons loose. All they have to do is watch the film from game six and see when and where to take shots. Even good goaltenders can’t stop certain deflections, just ask Braden Holtby.

It never feels good to lose 1-0. It really doesn’t feel good when the goal came off of a deflection off your own player.

Coming back to D.C. may be the medicine needed to cure the Capitals’ playoff woes.

As of now, this series has been chalk. Every home team has won. This has to be an encouraging sign for the Caps, but they can’t let it get to their heads.

The Rangers will be poised to be that first road team to make the ultimate statement in this series. The first period will be a telling sign of who really wants to move on and who just cherished the opportunity of making the playoffs.

Ultimately, the big guns will have to show up in this contest. Ovechkin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom will have to play possessed, especially Ovechkin. A legacy like his could be defined with games like tonight.

As of late, he has reverted back to his old ways. Using the curl-and-drag up the left-side boards, a step-over move to get into the slot and ultimately have his shot blocked, miss or have the puck poked away. He had a few great opportunities Sunday, but ultimately couldn’t capitalize. He will have to get off his four-game snide without a point if the Capitals expect to move on.

Just imagine the roar of the building if the Gr8 scores…

The Rangers would have to not only beat the boys in red on the ice, but the 20,000 fanatics rocking the red in the stands.

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The Rangers won a tightly contested game six, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon that has many Capitals players, fans, and even Comcast’s Alan May fuming over the power play imbalance so far in this series. The Blueshirts have benefitted in the three games in New York with 15 power plays to just 5 for the Capitals and it is 26-14, overall in the series. In game six, it was five to zero!

Anyone who watched that game clearly saw the zebra mistakes from the missed elbow and cross check from Ryan Callahan to Michael Del Zotto’s late hit on Mathieu Perreault to Derek Dorsett’s dirty and suspendable slew foot on Mike Green. Fortunately for Washington, the Rangers didn’t score in their 9:16 of advantage time but that is a ton of time where the Caps can’t get their offensive guys on the ice and it also adds extra fatigue to the squad. Simply put, the officiating has not been fair in this series and the league and the NHL supervisor working this series, Rod Pasma, needs to make sure things are called more evenly on Monday.

As for the game itself, the difference was a goal that went in off of the Capitals defense in a middle frame that New York mostly carried. But how much of that domination was due to the fact that the Caps had to kill three minor penalties in period one?

Both goalies, Braden Holtby and Henrik Lundqvist, were superb with King Henrik finding a way to shut the Caps out. His save on John Carlson at the end of the game typified how fantastic he was in game six.

So the series shifts back to the Verizon Center where the Capitals crowd has been outstanding and a big factor in the first three tilts. They have provided energy for the Caps and the team will need that again to close out a scrappy Rangers team that has gotten the breaks in this matchup. In addition, Coach Adam Oates will have the last change and Washington forwards will get to put their stick down second on faceoffs. In the last three games the home team has won the draws, 34-19, 42-30, and 27-18, respectively. Winning the faceoff means you have the puck and don’t have to waste energy chasing to get it. It is such an important part of a hockey game.

Also, the Capitals need to get some goals from its’ top line. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Marcus Johansson have been generating good chances, the Gr8 had five shots on net in game six after nine in game five, but they just haven’t finished. How they produce on Monday night will likely be the difference in the series. Ovechkin doesn’t have a point in the last four games, but he has been razor close to doing so in the last two tilts.

The Caps also could use a quality officiated game for once, as well.

It’s a game seven versus the Rangers, but unlike last season, the Caps are playing this one at the Verizon Center. Will that be the difference?

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