Capitals Forced Into Yet Another Game 7

For the fourth time in three years, the Washington Capitals will need a game 7 to finish off their playoff series. Two years ago the Capitals saw their season end with a game 7 loss to Philadelphia. Last season, the Capitals fought back from a 3-1 series deficit to force game 7 and beat the New York Rangers before losing to Pittsburgh in another game 7 in the conference semifinals. Now, despite being the most dominate NHL team in recent memory, the Capitals were not able to end their series against Montreal in games 5 or 6 and will face a winner-take-all situation tonight at the Verizon Center.

The series has been up and down throughout with Washington dropping game 1 and needing a miraculous comeback to win game 2. They then dominated games 3 and 4 to take a 3-1 series lead, but failed to close out with a lackluster performance in game 5. Despite what people may think about game 6, it was one of the best games played by the Caps so far this postseason. The Capitals completely dominated the game shooting a franchise postseason record 53 shots. There were just 3 big problems. One, goalie Semyon Varlamov did not look great, letting in two soft goals; two, the Caps powerplay continued to fizzle going 0 for 6 on the powerplay, including a 2 man advantage in the first period when the score was only 0-2; and third and most importantly, goalie Jaroslav Halak had a performance that would make Patrick Roy gasp. Despite such a great team effort, Washington found themselves on the wrong side of a 1-4 loss and now head home for game 7 wondering what happened and how they are going to beat Halak.

To add to the Caps' problems, one of their best defensemen so far this postseason will not be playing. Tom Poti suffered an eye injury in game 6 and will be out not only for tonight, but for most of the second round should the Caps advance. Tyler Sloan will likely take his place as he stepped up in the two games Shaone Morrisonn sat out with an injury, but the Caps did recall Karl Alzner from Hershey and head coach Bruce Boudreau hinted that he would not be afraid to play him despite tonight's high stakes. There is also some question over whether Boudreau will dress Brendan Morrisonn after sitting him out for game 6, but Boudreau has always been impressed with David Steckle's ability to step up in key situations such as when he scored the overtime winner against Pittsburgh last season to force a game 7. Otherwise Washington's lineup seems set. Some may be asking about a possible goalie change, but this is unlikely. While Varlamov did not look particularly good in game 6, the Caps have had more postseason consistency from him than from Jose Theodore and it is unlikely Boudreau would take such a huge gamble.

So is it time to panic in DC? Not just yet. For one, the Caps are used to game 7s and the added pressure most likely won't affect them. Game 7s are a time superstars step forward and the Caps have plenty to choose from between the best player in the world in Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Knuble. Montreal also can't ignore Mike Green and Alex Semin, even though both have yet to score in the series.

The key to winning tonight for Washington is solving Halak. The last two games, Montreal has ridden on his back and if the Caps can shake him up, they'll shake the entire Canadiens' team. The Caps came in ready to go on Monday and I would expect a similar performance tonight with a barrage of shots against Halak. While he has allowed only 2 goals in the past 2 games, I really doubt he can do it again. The Caps showed on Monday what kind of a performance it would take to beat them and Halak was up to the task then, but it would be difficult for any goalie in the league to follow it up with an equally spectacular performance. Yet, this may be the only way Montreal can win. The Caps will have to come out of the gate swinging and will hopefully put one or two into the net early in the game. For this to happen, the powerplay MUST be better. The Caps will get their chances, but they have to capitalize. So far what wasthe best powerplay team in the league has scored once this series. Once. Even with all the talent they have they have only managed one powerplay goal. This is really unacceptable. Montreal has not been able to stay out of the box this series and the Capitals have yet to make them pay. They will really need the powerplay to be working tonight.

Varlamov will also have to be solid. While I believe most of Montreal's chances rest on Halak, even when the Caps have managed to solve the goalies this series, Montreal seems to respond with its own offense. Since Halak has played so well the past 2 games, Montreal will have to be careful not to rely only on their goaltender and will have to make their own offensive push. Varlamov cannot allow any easy goals that will pressure his team. Still tonight I think the Caps will need Varlamov to not lose the game more than they will need him to win it.

The biggest key for the Caps is not to get frustrated. Towards the end of game 6, Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, and Green, were missing the net altogether, even from very close. What this means is that they were thinking too hard about shooting the perfect shot. When a goalie gets hot, players begin to think too much about how and where to shoot. The Caps can beat Halak if they screen him, deflect shots, and get to rebounds. They were not doing this at all in game 5 and abandoned this early in game 6 after Halak frustrated their efforts. Get back to the basics and they will get the puck past him.

It is certainly not time to panic for the Washington Capitals, but the problem with a game 7 is that it is winner take all. If Halak has another spectacular game, the bounces don't go the Caps' way, Varlamov has a bad game, or the referees call a bad game, the Caps are out. If the Caps had played a full game 5, they would not be looking at a hot goalie while facing elimination. One thing to watch for tonight is how the referees call the game. Montreal has a weak offense and a strong powerplay and have tried to agitate and draw penalties all series long. Apparently they tried a little too hard on Monday and were called for an unprecedented 3 unsportsmanlike penalties for diving. Maybe this was something discussed with the referees before hand, maybe it was just a bad game for Montreal. Either way it will be interesting to see if the referees call the Caps a little tighter tonight or if they put away the whistles for such a crucial game. You can expect Montreal coach Jacques Martin will be in both referees' ears tonight even before the game starts. The Caps will have to be careful to stay out of the box.

Tonight should be a good one, especially if the Caps win and move on to the semifinals. I know I'd rather be watching Caps and Flyers this weekend instead of the Nationals and the Marlins.