Washington conquers past, take series 4-1
This time they finished what they started.
A year ago the Capitals failed to end a Stanley Cup playoff first-round series at home against the Montreal Canadiens and that Game 5 loss ultimately cost them their season in a shocking upset. On Saturday afternoon at Verizon Center Washington’s biggest stars – Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green and Alex Semin – made sure there would be no repeat.
All three players scored for No. 1 seed Washington, which also received 26 saves from rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth in a 3-1 victory over the No. 8 New York Rangers.
Semin and Ovechkin each finished the five-game series with three goals each. Those performances lifted the Caps to their first postseason series victory since 2009 when they erased a 3-1 deficit against New York. Now, they get to rest and wait for their opponent in the second round, which won’t begin until next Friday at the earliest.
“It’s first time we win the series in five games,” said Ovechkin, whose team had gone to seven games in each of its previous four playoff series. “It’s pretty cool. We have time to rest. Right now I feel pretty good, but it’s not over yet. It’s just one step.”
| Caps notes |
| » Washington last won a playoff series in five games in 1998 when it dispatched Ottawa in the second round. |
| » Rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth‘s 1.38 goals-against average and .946 save percentage lead all NHL goalies in the Stanley Cup playoffs. |
| » Rangers forward Wojtek Wolski ended Neuvirth’s shutout bid, scoring with just 32 seconds left in the game and an extra attacker on the ice for New York. |
| EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS |
| Caps vs. Rangers |
| (Washington wins series 4-1) |
| Game 1 » WAS 2, NYR 1 (OT) |
| Game 2 » WAS 2, NYR 0 |
| Game 3 » NYR 3, WAS 2 |
| Game 4 » WAS 4, NYR 3 (2OT) |
| Game 5 » WAS 3, NYR 1 |
Green made an impact before departing with yet another head injury. The 25-year-old slid home a bad-angle shot past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist and then under a New York defenseman who tried a last-ditch effort to stop the puck. That power-play goal at 5:59 of the first period rewarded a Washington team that controlled play early – in marked contrast to the first 10 minutes of last year’s Game 5 against Montreal when the Caps quickly fell into a 2-0 hole and lost all momentum in that series.
Green’s day would end early, however. At 13:39 of the first period, a player who missed 26 of the final 28 games thanks to two separate head injuries took a Matt Gilroy slap shot off the left side of his helmet while sliding to block a shot. Green – who only returned from his Feb. 25 concussion in Game 1 of the New York series on April 13 – left the ice immediately. He did return to the bench, but did not play another shift.
“That’s really unfortunate,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. “[Green] was battling hard there. He was on the bench just kind of warming up [on the ice] between every [commercial break] there. We just wanted to get that win for him tonight and then let him rest and hopefully get him back for the next game.”
The Rangers appeared to settle down after a frenetic first period. But quick passing from the Caps pushed the lead to 2-0 at 7:04 of the second period. Defenseman Scott Hannan’s pass found Ovechkin streaking up the right wing. New York’s Marc Staal tried in vain to keep up as Ovechkin exploded around him and flipped a backhand shot past Lundqvist (24 saves). Marcus Johansson later found Semin for a 2-on-1 goal with 3:37 remaining to seal the win.
“The guys worked as hard as they could to get this series done and over with. They need a little time to enjoy it,” Caps veteran center Jason Arnott said. “And then we’ll get back to work on Monday and come in and get ready for the next series.”
