I'm no hockey guru. I generally think men in need of that much dental work belong far up in the mountains manning a still, or a mine, or maybe a swamp. But stereotypes and joking aside, I give mad props to the tough SOBs who play this game. Talk about men of steel - these pros have legs of steel to cut and speed the way they do across the ice. Anyhow... all that is to say, please forgive my terminological miscues in this first, and amateur, hockey post.
The Caps out-skated the Rangers tonight. They were ferocious. I often think hockey is like early-season college basketball - not interesting until the very end. But tonight was a show from start to finish. And the Caps led the charge.
In their ferocity, however, they lost their precision. They were fast as lightning. Even kung fu fighting, but, in their speed, they lost their edge. The Caps were sloppy shooters. And sloppy passers at that. At least when it mattered. I thought their passing was skilled and commendable until late in the third and the OTs. But their shooting broke down far earlier than that.
The Caps took too many long, desperate shots from mid-ice (Mike Green). And when they made a concerted effort near the net, the puck invariably came off the stick at a bad or weak angle. Tell me I don't know how much pressure they are under or how fast the world is spinning around them, but this is the NHL. That is what these men get played to do.
We won Game 2 on a face-off goal from Ovi. Tonight, they lost the face-off battle, giving the Rangers the edge too frequently on the puck drops.
The Caps dominated puck time but couldn't quite seem to bring it home when they needed to. Johansson was particularly ineffective tonight and Ovi's OT post hit seemed to sum it all up - Imprecise, a little unfocused, but so close.
Holtby kept them alive with another great performance. I would be remiss not to say, however, that his youth is still evident. But he is, no doubt, a star in the making. And a stud at that.
I believe in Hunter and his strategy and I believe the team does too. I'm just sorry that belief, on their part, has come so late in the season. This team can still win. But they cannot do it as handily as if they had bought in and coalesced sooner.
What an effort tonight on both sides. The strength astounds me.
On to Game 4.
The Caps out-skated the Rangers tonight. They were ferocious. I often think hockey is like early-season college basketball - not interesting until the very end. But tonight was a show from start to finish. And the Caps led the charge.
In their ferocity, however, they lost their precision. They were fast as lightning. Even kung fu fighting, but, in their speed, they lost their edge. The Caps were sloppy shooters. And sloppy passers at that. At least when it mattered. I thought their passing was skilled and commendable until late in the third and the OTs. But their shooting broke down far earlier than that.
The Caps took too many long, desperate shots from mid-ice (Mike Green). And when they made a concerted effort near the net, the puck invariably came off the stick at a bad or weak angle. Tell me I don't know how much pressure they are under or how fast the world is spinning around them, but this is the NHL. That is what these men get played to do.
We won Game 2 on a face-off goal from Ovi. Tonight, they lost the face-off battle, giving the Rangers the edge too frequently on the puck drops.
The Caps dominated puck time but couldn't quite seem to bring it home when they needed to. Johansson was particularly ineffective tonight and Ovi's OT post hit seemed to sum it all up - Imprecise, a little unfocused, but so close.
Holtby kept them alive with another great performance. I would be remiss not to say, however, that his youth is still evident. But he is, no doubt, a star in the making. And a stud at that.
I believe in Hunter and his strategy and I believe the team does too. I'm just sorry that belief, on their part, has come so late in the season. This team can still win. But they cannot do it as handily as if they had bought in and coalesced sooner.
What an effort tonight on both sides. The strength astounds me.
On to Game 4.
