Caps 2, Lightning 1 (Shootout)
So that was entertaining. The Caps trailed 1-0 late in the third period of Monday’s game at Tampa Bay. It looked like we might have our third Dwayne Roloson shutout of the last two months. But Alex Semin couldn’t let that happen. The right wing took a nice feed from teammate Dennis Wideman, drove into the offensive zone and the ripped a wicked wrister past Roloson to tie the game. Alex Ovechkin and rookie goalie Braden Holtby did the rest with the lone shootout goal and 21 saves plus three more in the shootout to steal the victory.
Have to credit Holtby, who looked calm and composed after Michal Neuvirth left following the first period. According to Bruce Boudreau on the team’s official web site, a piece of metal from Neuvirth’s goalie mask got stuck in his eye after a rocket of a first-period shot hit him in the head. He stayed in the game, but came out after that intermission. Holtby stopped everything the Lightning sent his way, including an absurd mid-air stick save on a Simon Gagne shot at the left doorstep and an overtime pad stop on defenseman Eric Brewer. There’s a reason George McPhee hasn’t shipped any of his three young goalies out of town yet.
Semin had a monster game. He took a game-high six shots, he was energetic and engaged throughout. Sometimes Semin will coast through a game while wearing what seems to be an invisibility cloak and then steal a win with a jaw-dropping goal or assist. Not the case here. Semin was no passenger. He had another four attempts blocked and two shots miss the net. But he attacked Tampa’s creaky defensemen and was dangerous all game long.
Washington somehow had 20 shots through three periods and then rang up another 10 in overtime alone. It couldn’t convert on a late 4-on-3 power play thanks to Roloson, who had all kinds of stellar saves, including a couple on Brooks Laich when the Caps forward couldn’t lift the puck at the doorstep.
Nicklas Backstrom apparently fell on his injured left hand and that’s why he didn’t return to the game the 17:16 mark of the second period. Jason Arnott also missed a stretch of 8:28 bridging the first and second periods before returning. This was a bruising, playoff-style game. Tampa was credited with 33 hits and 25 blocked shots. The Caps had 14 blocks and 17 hits. Okay, maybe some hometown scoring there. But either way it was a physical battle. And in the end Washington (37-20-10, 84 points) has a two-point lead over Tampa Bay (37-21-8, 82 points) in the Southeast Division and is just two points behind Philadelphia for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with 15 games to go.
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