Ovechkin, Capitals get best of Lundqvist
Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals controls the puck against the New York Rangers during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. (April 30, 2012) Credit: Jim McIsaac
Capital idea, that.
With the Rangers having blocked more shots during the playoffs than any other team, protecting goalie Henrik Lundqvist's fiefdom with a picket fence of bodies and sticks, repeatedly cutting off pucks hurled from the blue line, the Washington Capitals on Monday night endeavored to hold their fire until they could see the whites of Lundqvist's eyes.
The strategy worked just often enough to provide Washington with an early two-goal lead, both goals scored from Lundqvist's doorstep. And when the Capitals really needed to get something past the Rangers' defense, it had Alex Ovechkin's laser from just inside the blue line at 12:33 of the third period for Washington's 3-2 victory. "Not too many guys would've scored that goal," Washington coach Dale Hunter said.
The Madison Square Garden crowd, raucous as ever, had been throwing obscene chants at Ovechkin and Washington goalie Braden Holtby. But Ovechkin dismissed that with a smile and a nod to the fact that "they're fans and they want the Rangers to win."
The way Hunter saw it: "When the crowd's on you, there's a reason. It means you're playing well."
It also was an indication of the game's urgency, with Washington needing to get something past Lundqvist's guards to even the series at one game apiece.
Only 12:20 into the game, Mike Knuble got a tap-in at the right post after Joel Ward flashed a pass across the goalmouth from a hard angle at the left. Not quite five minutes later, Jason Chimera ended a swift counterattack by nudging the puck a few inches over the goal line past a scrambling Lundqvist after Matt Hendricks' backhand attempt.
Seconds earlier, new Garden darling Chris Kreider, that hardened veteran of seven National Hockey League games, had burst from the penalty box and corralled an errant Washington pass for a breakaway attempt that was foiled by Holtby.
"That was big," Hunter said. "He stood tall."
So instead of Kreider tying the score at 1, Washington managed to sneak past the Rangers' enemy lines for a second score from point-blank range. And in the end, it was Washington that blocked 24 Rangers shots while the Rangers cut off 14 Washington attempts. And Holtby, who finished with 26 saves, was not so disturbed by the Rangers' scores as by the screaming Michel Del Zotto blast that hit the post with 15:50 left, shortly before another Del Zotto shot deflected off Ryan Callahan and past Holtby.
"Plays like that," Holtby said, "where they earned their scoring chance, it's easier to shake off than the one I probably should have had. It hits the post and you realize how close it was to making a mistake."
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