Daily Dose: Capital Gains
Daniel E.
Dobish takes a look at Saturday’s NHL playoff action and says these Washington Capitals might be different than years pastMoreWashington Capitals are playing their kryptonite in the postseason, and a matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins usually means exit interviews and locker cleanouts are right around the corner.
But these Caps are a little different this season.
And the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators have been playing a very entertaining series to date, and not many expected Saturday’s surprising result.
And speaking of surprising, my Lower C team Ice Aged is on a two-game unbeaten streak with a 1-1 tie against the first-place Ice Hogs.
Let’s gets started!” The Stanley Cup playoffs had just two games on Saturday, and there were two surprising results.
The Washington Capitals are playing their kryptonite in the postseason, and a matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins usually means exit interviews and locker cleanouts are right around the corner.
But these Caps are a little different this season.
And the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators have been playing a very entertaining series to date, and not many expected Saturday’s surprising result.
And speaking of surprising, my Lower C team Ice Aged is on a two-game unbeaten streak with a 1-1 tie against the first-place Ice Hogs.
Let’s gets started!The Penguins and Capitals were exchanging haymakers in the first 40 minutes of Game 5 in D.C., and the referee was very busy with the whistle, too.Jamie Oleksiak opened the scoring with his first playoff goal, set up by Derick Brassard and Justin Schultz just 2:23 into the game.
That goal cast a pall over the Verizon Center crowd, as everyone was likely thinking to themselves, "Here we go again!" The Caps have been synonymous with choking in the postseason, so a slow start wasn’t what the home team was searching for.
However, a tripping call on Dominik Simon gave the Caps a late first-period power play and John Carlson took advantage with his third of the playoffs.
Just 33 seconds it was Brett Connolly sending the home crowd to the beer and bathroom line happy at first intermission with a 2-1 lead.” Jamie Oleksiak opened the scoring with his first playoff goal, set up by Derick Brassard and Justin Schultz just 2:23 into the game.
That goal cast a pall over the Verizon Center crowd, as everyone was likely thinking to themselves, “Here we go again!” The Caps have been synonymous with choking in the postseason, so a slow start wasn’t what the home team was searching for.
However, a tripping call on Dominik Simon gave the Caps a late first-period power play and John Carlson took advantage with his third of the playoffs.
Just 33 seconds it was Brett Connolly sending the home crowd to the beer and bathroom line happy at first intermission with a 2-1 lead.Sidney Crosby and Patrik Hornqvist to open up a 3-2 lead.
The Pens had to be feeling very confident heading to the room with a lead on the road, hoping to push their rivals to the brink.
However, the Capitals had other plans in the final stanza.” Unfortunately for the Caps, it was more disappointment in a second period absolutely dominated by the Pens.
Pittsburgh outshot Washington 18-5 in a dominant second, highlighted by power-play goals by Sidney Crosby and Patrik Hornqvist to open up a 3-2 lead.
The Pens had to be feeling very confident heading to the room with a lead on the road, hoping to push their rivals to the brink.
However, the Capitals had other plans in the final stanza.Evgeny Kuznetsov has been doing it all season, and he was able to open the third-period scoring just 52 seconds into the period to knot things up 3-3.
Jakub Vrana was promoted from the third line to the first line and he rewarded his coach with the game-winning tally with just 4:38 left in regulation.
T.J.
Oshie and Lars Eller tacked on empty-net goals to make this one look a bit lopsided.
In reality, it was a hotly-contested game that came right down to the final few minutes before the Caps pulled away.
Vrana ended up with the game-winning tally and a pair of helpers, while Kuznetsov also led the way with a goal and three points.
Eller and Oshie were also multi-point contributors with a goal and assist.” Evgeny Kuznetsov has been doing it all season, and he was able to open the third-period scoring just 52 seconds into the period to knot things up 3-3.
Jakub Vrana was promoted from the third line to the first line and he rewarded his coach with the game-winning tally with just 4:38 left in regulation.
T.J.
Oshie and Lars Eller tacked on empty-net goals to make this one look a bit lopsided.
In reality, it was a hotly-contested game that came right down to the final few minutes before the Caps pulled away.
Vrana ended up with the game-winning tally and a pair of helpers, while Kuznetsov also led the way with a goal and three points.
Eller and Oshie were also multi-point contributors with a goal and assist.The performance of Braden Holtby was overlooked, but he posted 36 goals while allowing just the early mistake to Oleksiak and then the two power-play helpers which weren’t his fault.
He faced that barrage in the second period and things could have been a lot different if not for his heroics.
Perhaps these Capitals are different from years past when they seemed to wilt under the pressure of the playoffs, especially when matched up with the Pens.The series continues Monday night in Pittsburgh for Game 6, and the Penguins will have their backs to the wall on the brink of elimination.Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News , or follow @Rotoworld_HK and @RyanDadoun on Twitter.” Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News , or follow @Rotoworld_HK and @RyanDadoun on Twitter.WINNIPEG JETS 6, NASHVILLE PREDATORS 2 (Jets lead series 3-2)” WINNIPEG JETS 6, NASHVILLE PREDATORS 2 (Jets lead series 3-2)The Winnipeg Jets suffered a heartbreaking loss in Manitoba in Game 4, as they handed home-ice advantage back to the President’s Trophy winners.
The defending Western Conference champion Nashville Predators were coming home to the raucous Music City and it looked like they were able to ground the jets and push their opponent to the brink.
However, these Jets are an impressive and resilient bunch and they were able to do big things in Game 5 in Tennessee.Paul Stastny netted his fourth of the postseason, Kyle Connor lit the lamp, Dustin Byfuglien chimed in with a marker and Connor struck again, as this went from a low-scoring game to fire wagon hockey in a hurry.
The Preds also picked up goals from Yannick Weber and Ryan Johansen on a shorthanded score, turning the frowns of ‘under’ bettors upside-down in a hurry, too.” The Jets were unable to find their groove on the offensive end in a listless performance in Game 4, and they stumbled out of the chutes like Mendelssohn in the Kentucky Derby.
Unlike the European nag, they were able to record in the second period.
Paul Stastny netted his fourth of the postseason, Kyle Connor lit the lamp, Dustin Byfuglien chimed in with a marker and Connor struck again, as this went from a low-scoring game to fire wagon hockey in a hurry.
The Preds also picked up goals from Yannick Weber and Ryan Johansen on a shorthanded score, turning the frowns of ‘under’ bettors upside-down in a hurry, too.Story ContinuesThis Jets team welcomed Joel Armia back from an injury last time out, and Mathieu Perreault returned after an eight-game absence to make his presence felt.
Winnipeg is finally back to full strength after a series of nagging injuries and that’s not good for the rest of the Western Conference, and certainly not good for the Preds.
Perreault accounted for the team’s final goal on the power play, giving Winnipeg an impressive 6-2 lead early in the third period and that’s exactly how things ended up.
That sixth goal was enough to end Vezina Trophy finalist Pekka Rinne’s night prematurely, as he’ll try and regroup in Game 6.
Juuse Saros stepped in and turned aside all six shots he faced, but it was much to late.
Connor Hellebuyck is showing he is the Vezina Trophy finalist to pay attention to, as he stopped 38 of the 40 shots he faced to get his team in position for a series clinched at home.The Predators were trailing after two periods and that’s not a good thing for them.
They’re 0-4 when trailing after 40 minutes.
This incarnation of the Jets franchise hadn’t won a series in its history until dispatching the Minnesota Wild.
Now, they could be able to score a major upset against the No.
1 seed in the NHL.The series shifts to Winnipeg for Game 6 on Monday night.In other news, Boston will be without Torey Krug for as long as they’re alive against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as he is dealing with an ankle injury.
The source: Rotoworld