Do The Caps Have A Goalie Controversy?
By ThomJust eight minutes into game, the Capitals found themselves dominating the Canadians, but strangely with a two goal deficit on two Habs shots. Both shots went glove side with nary a reaction from Caps goalie Jose Theodore. Fraught with the risk of losing the teams motivation and confidence, coach Boudreau made the change and in went Semyon Varlamov in a delayed repeat of last season's first round against the New York Rangers. The move last year sparked the Caps and allowed a hard fought series win, but will Boudreau mirror last year's change and keep Varly in the crease for the duration of the playoffs or was yesterday's move only temporary? Are this years circumstances different?
Clearly, something was afoul for Jose Theodore in last nights first eight minutes. In game one, he appeared to be right on with fluid saves and a resilience or groove that had thrilled the Capitals fans throughout the regular season. That is up until the overtime game winner by Tomas Plekanec. Last nights game made it three goals in the last three shots against Theo and arguably three that could have been stoppers. Was it nerves? Who knows, but Theo's season may give him a pass for last night and see him in the nets again tomorrow night. Varley was good last night, but still hasn't blossomed into last seasons playoff form. What do you think? A goalie controversy or a temporary setback for Theo?
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Don’t Take The Montreal Canadiens Lightly! (or Better Yet, Don’t Count Your Chickens Until They Hatch)
By Rodger Wood
I don’t want to jinx our Capitals but they’re heavy favorites going into their first preliminary Stanley Cup playoff series against the eight seeded Montreal Canadiens tomorrow at the Verizon Center.Why not? They won the President’s Trophy with the best overall record in the NHL this season, finishing 33 points ahead of the Canadiens in the final standings.They scored 103 more goals than the Canadiens and lost only 15 games in regulation during the regular season.The Caps had an awesome offense and balanced scoring getting 20-goals from 8 different forwards and a good share more from their defense too.During the regular season series, the Caps beat the Canadiens twice, lost a game in regulation and won one in overtime.
But anything can happen in the Stanley Cups Playoffs. There is always an upset in the first series. Montreal is a hellacious place to try to win a hockey game and the home team has the 2nd best power play (next to Washington) in the league.The Caps cannot take any stupid penalties, need strong goaltending from Jose Theodore and/or Semyon Varlamov, and need to come out of the gate the first period on the run. They must finish their checks and Alex O. must continue to play the game with abandon.While the Washington Post, and USA Today and other hockey soothsayers predict a Capitals series win in 5 or 6 games, I think you have to take one game at a time and think about the next series, only after you have won four games.As an old hockey philosopher once said, “You don’t pack the equipment bag before the game is over and you don’t start celebrating until the buzzer rings and your team is ahead. And as his contemporary, the old farmer said, “You don’t count your chickens until they hatch!