Round 2 : Washington v Pittsburgh

[sseagle]

April 28 Pittsburgh v Washington 7pm NBCSN
April 30 Pittsburgh v Washington 7pm NBC
May 2 Washington @ Pittsburgh 7pm NBCSN
May 4 Washington @ Pittsburgh 7pm NBCSN
May 7 Pittsburgh v Washington TBA TBA
May 10 Washington @ Pittsburgh TBA TBA
May 12 Pittsburgh v Washington TBA TBA

[Portland Blues]

This should be a good one!

[gaijin]

This should be a good one!

Indeed. Have to think the winner of this series has the short path the Cup Final.

[glen a richter]

Pens in 7

[Misc. Blues]

Pens in 7

The way the Pens are playing it might be 5 or 6...

[theohall]

Do both these teams simply have ridiculously quick transition games or is their defensive play/defensive transition just that bad? I can't tell in some cases in this game.

Backstrom and Ovechkin almost made "Norris Trophy candidate" Letang look really bad had Ovie gotten that goal in the final few minutes.

[theohall]

Oshie with the hat-trick. I guess he can score in the playoffs.

[cardsfan04]

I'm mostly happy for Oshie. But, the graphic they showed during the game of him having 9 points in 30 playoff games for us vs 6 points (7 after the OT goal) in 7 playoff games for them is rather par for the course.

[ComradeT]

Both teams play run-and-gun style of hockey, so goals are expected. It doesn't hurt that Osh is playing on the line with Ovechkin and Backstrom, rather than Backes and Berglund. Game 1 was a really fun to watch, this will be the other series I'll be following. Not to mention that the winner of this is the likely SCF contender.

[ecbm]

"Norris Trophy candidate" Letang

I don't dislike Letang, he's a quality defenseman but he's also one of the most intensely overrated players in the league if you ask me.

Good for Oshie-I won't be surprised if he becomes an offensive beast in a different system. He started in the O-zone 64.2% of his shifts in this series; that number was 45.9% last year with the Blues.

[ComradeT]

Letang just destroyed Johansson. Put his head on a swivel. Clear head shot. Wonder what he'll get given Orpik's suspension.

[WaukeeBlues]

'Guins takin it to 'em: 3-0 and the 3rd about to end.

Didn't see the Letang hit...

[ComradeT]

If only Caps could hit the net... 49 SOG. Probably 149 total shots. Murray had a hell of a game in goal for Pens. Pens basically pulled the Blues in the third. Ovie played like a man possessed. Still hoping Caps take this one. Can't stand the Pens.

[theohall]

Problems for Washington:

1) only line scoring is their first line or the first line augmented by Williams with the goalie pulled. Meanwhile, the Pens are getting depth scoring.
2) The Caps 1-3-1 power play with the first unit is not working. Oshie is setting up to receive the pass and not really screening the goalie at all so the D is ignoring him, staying spread out and taking away passing lanes. The lower 1 on that unit is setting up below the goal line like the Blues have done with Fabbri, but the slow puck movement or lack of skating by the unit as a whole isn't collapsing the PK unit enough to open anything up anywhere for that down low guy. Side to side passing is so slow, there is no screen in front and Murray is making easy saves because he can see everything. That unit may have worked early, but the Pens are defending it perfectly now and the Caps aren't adjusting. Keep letting the Pens get easy kills against that PP unit and the Caps are going home.

With Orpik suspended for 3 for a similar hit, I will surprised of Letang isn't given a similar suspension which will hurt the Pens. Letang is the guy designated to stop Ovie. Leaving the feet, principle contact with the head. If Letang didn't leave his feet, it's a clean hit, because he wouldn't have hit him in the head.

[gaijin]

Damn. Pens now up 3-1 in the series. This may be about it for my bracket.

[glen a richter]

Pittsburgh is firing on all cylinders. Talk about peaking at the right time.

[ecbm]

I can't help but cast back a bit to everyone's pre-playoff rankings and how almost everyone had the Blues in the middle of the pack or worse because of this group's track record in the playoffs. These same people universally had Washington in the top-3, suffering total amnesia about their own playoff struggles.

I'm still hoping this series goes 7. These teams are beating the hell out of each other-long may it continue.

[midgensa]

Since I live in the D.C. area ... I am definitely pulling for Washington in this one (because if there is a Caps vs. Blues SCF I have a shot at going!)

But I must tell you all ... the entire area is in a complete funk today after last night. It seemed everyone thought (and for the most part they were right) that the Caps had outplayed the Pens through three and had bad puck luck. But after last night, they cannot use puck luck anymore because it just doesn't matter.

Crosby has always beaten Ovechkin. He KNOWS it is his legacy. He KNOWS he is tied to his performance against his top counterpart and he ALWAYS comes out on top. He wins GOLD ... he wins conference titles and he won a Cup. He has staked his entire career on being better than Ovie and it has served him well.

I have to say I want the Pens to win now, because if the Caps come back and shake this monkey off ... they will be very difficult to beat.

[WaukeeBlues]

Since I live in the D.C. area ... I am definitely pulling for Washington in this one (because if there is a Caps vs. Blues SCF I have a shot at going!)

But I must tell you all ... the entire area is in a complete funk today after last night. It seemed everyone thought (and for the most part they were right) that the Caps had outplayed the Pens through three and had bad puck luck. But after last night, they cannot use puck luck anymore because it just doesn't matter.

Crosby has always beaten Ovechkin. He KNOWS it is his legacy. He KNOWS he is tied to his performance against his top counterpart and he ALWAYS comes out on top. He wins GOLD ... he wins conference titles and he won a Cup. He has staked his entire career on being better than Ovie and it has served him well.

I have to say I want the Pens to win now, because if the Caps come back and shake this monkey off ... they will be very difficult to beat.

I agree that the Pens have to go for the jugular tonight. They can't have Washington having ANY life breathed back into them. They need to come in and put the hammer down and get out of this series.

I think Washington finds a way to win tonight. Ovechkin played like a man possessed the other night so I don't think that loss was on him.

Murray has been the X factor, for sure. He's playing out of his mind, he's standing on his head and he's stealing some games. You have to have that in the playoffs. And I think the Caps are getting frustrated by the lack of scoring but they have to keep their cool.

Tonight: Caps 5, Pens 3

[theohall]

Caps first line power play actually moved the puck quicker in this one than they have all series and, not so surprisingly, the quicker puck movement collapses the Pens PK and the Capitals score.