The Caps had the wild comeback from three goals down in Game 2. They put together a dominant second period in Game 3 and cruised to a 5-1 victory. And on Wednesday night in Game 4 they again used a shorthanded goal to spring themselves to a win. Things are certainly coming together in these Stanley Cup playoffs.
A go-ahead goal in the third period from star forward Alex Ovechkin, some insurance from Jason Chimera and a couple of empty-netters gave Washington a 6-3 win at Bell Centre and a 3-1 series lead for the first time since 1998 when it beat Buffalo in the Eastern Conference finals. That means this group of Caps gets a chance to close out a series early when the play the Canadiens in Game 5 on Friday night at Verizon Center.
Plenty of heroes on the night. Boyd Gordon and Mike Knuble teamed up for a shorthanded goal for the second game in a row. This one was a true dagger, coming with just six seconds left in the second period. That tied the game at 2-2 and in an instant rendered a frenzied Bell Centre crowd mute. For a long time you didn’t think anything could do that. The Canadiens outshot the Caps 21-9 in the second period. But thanks to Semyon Varlamov’s brilliant glove saves – three big ones, especially, late in the period during a penalty kill – Montreal had just one goal to show for its effort. The shorty changed the momentum again and set up Ovechkin’s crucial tally in the third period.
Oh, remember when Ovechkin had no shots and no points in Game 1? Yeah, that seems like two years ago. He scored twice tonight and now has four goals and four assists in the last three games. The second goal at 11:09 of the third period put Washington up 3-2. It came on a nice pass from teammate Alex Semin, who recorded his first point of the series. Chimera added his 52 seconds later to make it 4-2 – with help from Matt Bradley’s puck control behind the net and blind cross-crease pass. Knuble and Nicklas Backstrom then sandwiched empty-net goals around a score from Dominic Moore in the final 2:27 to end it.
Make no mistake. The Caps earned this one. I don’t know what the Montreal papers are going to say about their team. But I thought the Canadiens played a tough, gritty game. They created scoring chances. They fed off a roaring crowd. They tested Varlamov. But the rookie goalie — as he did most of last spring — stood up to the challenge. He stopped 36 of 39 shots — a series-high for Montreal even with two overtime games. Carey Price played a fine game in his own right. It took the Caps almost 50 minutes to really crack the 22-year-old, who saved 32 of 36 shots. He gave up a power-play goal to Oveckin in the first period — the Caps’ first in the series to snap an 0-for-15 skid — and nothing else until Gordon and Knuble teamed up on another shorthanded breakaway. Great teams take full advantage of mistakes like that one. The Caps outshot the Canadiens 20-6 in the third period and didn’t take any penalties down the stretch.
Ovechkin had a goal and an assist. Backstrom had a goal and two assists and was a +4. Knuble had two goals and was a +3. But when Gordon and Chimera and Bradley are producing offensively, too, there’s not a team in the NHL that can stop Washington. There just isn’t. Tom Poti was a +3. Rookie defenseman John Carlson was a +2 and again looked cool and composed. Even Semin showed signs of life as Bruce Boudreau put him up top with Ovechkin and Backstrom for a few shifts. He had the pretty assist on Ovechkin’s second goal and took four shots. Washington also won 39 of 65 faceoffs as they continue to dominate that statistical category. The Caps are on their way home. Will have plenty more from Kettler Iceplex tomorrow when the team has an optional practice at noon. Expect light attendance as the players rest for what they hope is a series-clinching win on Friday night.
