Alex Ovechkin (Caps Outsider)
As Caps fans awoke this morning, wiping the sleep from their eyes and hoping it was all just a bad dream, a quick look at the sports page or morning news show proved otherwise. The Caps are down 3-1 to the Penguins in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Penguins. That just doesn’t sit well. The Caps have one last chance to stay alive on Saturday at Verizon Center, and they better not wait until the third period to ‘unleash the fury’.
According to Caps defenseman Taylor Chorney in a postgame interview Wednesday, the Caps need to leave it all on the ice in game 5.
“It’s do or die. We have to come with our best game,” said Chorney. “We’re in full desperation mode from the drop of the puck in the next game.”
And the Caps need to do just that or it won’t be their next game, it will be their last game. They will be eliminated in a season littered with awards, milestones and The President’s Trophy – again.
What happened? Lack of offense and lack of Brooks Orpik.
First, if the big guns don’t score, then you rely on secondary players to score. Against a team with a strong defense, like the Penguins, that’s tough. In game 4, hardworking Jay Beagle scored an awesome goal for the Caps, but he was just as shocked as the rest of us that it went in the net. It was a lucky goal, well deserved and happy, but lucky. And that, plus a wrist shot by John Carlson to tie the game at 2, was it for the Caps on Wednesday. They went on to lose in OT. Sad. (Ovi? Backy? Kuzy? Where were you?)
Second, Orpik. I feel like the turning point for the Caps was Orpik’s suspension. He’s a great defenseman, he’s experienced, a team leader and, not to mention, an ex-Penguin. After all, isn’t that why the Caps acquired him in the first place for intense situations like the playoffs? His absence forced the Caps’ defense to regroup and put young inexperienced and/or lesser utilized players where Orpik should have been and it proved awkward and ineffective. And to think his “excessively late” hit on Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta, which was such a thoughtless, regrettable act that he admits was wrong, could determine the series. Orpik could’ve made a big difference in the last 2 games. It could be quite a different story staring at game 5.
For those of you obsessed with the officiating and think the Penguins are considered the sweetheart of the NHL, just stop it already. It only proves that you’re as unnerved by the Penguins as the Caps seem to be.
Can the Caps come back after being down 3-1 in the series? Well, here’s a fact: According to NHL.com, teams have trailed 3-1 in a best-of-seven series a total of 229 times and have come back to win the series on 20 occasions or 8.7% of the time.
Not great odds, but it’s certainly possible. Let’s Go Caps!!!
