Stanley Cup Playoffs first round: Game #5
Series: Capitals 3, Montreal Canadiens 1
Where: Verizon Center
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
TV: Comcast SportsNet / Radio: 106.7 FM
Hard to believe, but the Caps already know their second-round opponent if they should finish off Montreal in Game 5 tonight at Verizon Center. The Philadelphia Flyers – seeded No. 7 in the Eastern Conference – ousted No. 2 New Jersey on Thursday night. So they can sit back and hope the Caps take some extra time to finish off the Canadiens. That’s the least of Washington’s concerns, of course. Just finding a way to eliminate Montreal will do for now. Nobody wants to get back on the plane to Quebec for a Game 6 on Monday.
“We don’t want to give them any momentum back going back to Montreal,” said Caps forward Matt Bradley, who assisted on what proved to be the game-winning goal in Wednesday’s 6-3 win against the Canadiens. “It could easily be 3-1 for them right now in the series. To end it tonight would keep us fresh and give us some rest and not have to worry about going to back … [And] you definitely use that as motivation You don’t want to go back there. You get to Game 6 anything can happen. It’s a lot easier just to win tonight, but that’s going to be a big task for us. It’s probably going to be their best game.”
Defenseman Shaone Morrisonn is a “game time” decision, according to Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. He wouldn’t bite on a follow-up question asking if the defensive pairings would stay the same if Morrisonn is out for a second straight game. Boudreau has already said rookie goalie Semyon Varlamov is back in goal tonight. Tyler Sloan was in the lineup on Wednesday for Morrisonn and that should stay the same against the speedy Canadiens.
So can the Caps close this thing out? Montreal has pushed them and at some point in each of these games controlled the play. This group has never had a chance to finish an opponent — though last year’s 2-0 lead over Pittsburgh came close. But they have been down in a 3-1 position twice themselves against both the Flyers in 2008 and the Rangers in 2009. Several players said today they have yet to play well for a full game. It may take that to match the desperation Montreal should bring to the ice tonight.
“A team does not dominate – whether it’s nine innings, 48 minutes, 60 minutes – from start to finish,” Boudreau said. “At some point the other team has a go at it and you have to defend. That’s something we talk about.”
Caps Notes
» Alex Ovechkin briefly addressed a question about his spraying snow on a young kid holding a Canadiens flag during pregame ceremonies prior to Game 4 in Montreal. As he comes off the ice right before the game, Ovechkin always stops hard against the boards. In the process, he sprays ice up against them. This time, though — depending on what you were looking for or maybe what color jersey you were wearing — it looked like he was intentionally targeting the kid. Ovechkin said that wasn’t the case.
“I just do it all the time and the kid was on the boards and I think he’s pretty happy about it,” Ovechkin said. “Probably talk with his friends about it.”
» Boudreau on his team having two shorthanded goals in this series and just one power-play goal: “That would have been a good bet in Vegas at this stage. It’s a new season and new things happen. We’ll take them any way we can get them. Hopefully we’ll at least get a couple of power play opportunities tonight.”
