Of all the Capitals in the world, Matt Bradley was the spearhead in a dominating Capitals 4-0 victory over the Rangers. With their very playoff lives on the line, the Capitals and rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov were absolutely stunning in forcing a Game Six in New York.
While Bradley's shorthanded goal and no-angle shot were the catalyst of the Capitals offense, perhaps the most impressive goal of the night was Alex Ovechkin's "dagger." In yet another beautiful display of power and skill, Ovechkin muscled past two defenders before beating Henrik Lundqvist to put the Caps up 4-0.
To quote Joe Beninati, "simply sensational." Not quite as flashy as "The Goal," but just as impressive as "The Sequel." My favorite part though? When Lundqvist falls to the ice in utter defeat. Brilliant.
The crowd's cheering after the goal was so loud that the players on the ice couldn't hear the buzzer that ended the second period. Unreal. Also notice Sergei Fedorov mouth two words. If our lip-reading skills are what we think they are, he probably said "Game over."
Alex Ovechkin officially commited regicide as "King" Henry Lundqvist was benched at the start of the third period.
After that great hi-lite came the lo-lite of the series year.
We'll touch on this in The Ugly section of the post...
The Good:
The Capitals' energy level from the drop of the puck was off the charts, something we'd noticed was missing in their recent losses.
Simeon Varlamov didn't need to stand on his head, but still earned his shutout.
Outside of Bradley's shortie, the Caps scored all three goals at even strength.
John Erskine is continuing to prove that he's the Capitals go-to order-keeper. Erskine was involved in just about every scrap in front of Varlamov, and his only penalties came during a scrap at the end of the second.
Another solid night from the Capitals defense, which only allowed 20 shots on goal, and most of them from low-scoring areas. If the defense can keep this up, Varlamov might want to take them out for some vodka shots for his 21st Monday.
Sean Avery may have been scratched, but Colton Orr picked up the slack for Avery in the stupid penalty department. Orr's clothesline of Alex Semin in the third not only showed the Rangers' frustration, but may have earned him a shot in the WWE. Vince McMahon is watching Colton.
This was the fewest shots on goal by the Caps all series long (21) yet it was the second time that they scored four goals this series.
Caps PK was perfect once again, but so was the team.
All but one Caps faceoff man was over 50%, (Kozlov was blanked) but one man stands out among them -- Matt Bradley was 100% on the faceoff...he only took one against Nik Antropov, but still a red letter night for Bradley.
I don't know if Lundqvist is "in the Caps' heads" anymore.
The Bad:
Caps were 0/7 on the power play. I mean sure we had a lead, but you have got to at least score to get the special teams working.
Tomas Fleischman couldn't score if the net was a soccer goal. Guy has got to bury his shots!
Quite a few minor penalties were handed out to the Caps for retaliating, and Brash was given a game misconduct. Given the futileness of the game at that point, it's better to keep your cool and not do something that could draw a suspension (see Milan Lucic) rather than try and send a message. Fortunately, Brash just threw some punches.
The Ugly:
Allow me to get a little Don Cherry on you here...
#1: Don't throw anything over the glass at the benches or on the ice. It's stupid, it could lead to a penalty and it could lead to you walking out of the arena in handcuffs if someone gets hurt.
#2: Leave the fighting to the guys on the ice. I heard there were some fisticuffs in the upper-level sections. If you're some meathead who thinks throwing down at a hockey game is cool, go to a UFC event, not a Caps hockey game.
#3: The guy who threw the beer at John Tortorella is an ass-hat, not a hero. He's not tough, he's not cool, he's an idiot.
Your Tweets...and if you're one who loves Twitter, congrats, you guys made #Caps a trending topic.
vulcansmuse I LOVE the streets of DC after a Caps win. Insanity. Horns. Fans going nuts. A stranger just kissed me on the cheek & another highfived me.
Mulator Hard to sleep when you are feeling slightly orgasmic from the Caps win...
Bobtimist Guess we won't be worrying bout NBC's Sunday afternoon lineup
BanginPanger I think we should've live-blogged this particular game...
Mulator Is it a sin if my daughter misses CCD on Sunday? I'll be watching the Caps and she's too young to walk...
WAS_Nationals And for your Washington Nationals...starting 2nd Basemen...Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiike Green
One cool thing to watch for on Ovie's "Dagger" goal: It comes after the second curl-and-drag; it's when he uses his left skate to settle the puck in front of himself for his drive into the goal. Amazing. The crowd's reaction, measured from my seat high in the upper deck at the opposite end: Like a bomb going off in the building.
+0
... written by Ovechwin,
April 25, 2009
I'm worried about what team we will see on Sunday. The team of games 3 and 5 can obviously get it done, and even the teams of games 1, 2, and 4 could, with a little luck, squeak by a win. Will we the the Shut-out or the shut-down?
+0
... written by Reed "CK",
April 25, 2009
That's my biggest worry, I hope that the Capitals keep the Rangers on their heels and drive the winning stick through their playoff hearts, but as we saw in Game Four, that didnt happen.
+0
... written by Bucky Katt,
April 25, 2009
Dittos. If the Caps come out and jump on the Rangers early in Game 6 ala 3&5....get set for a raucaus time Tuesday night at the Phonebooth.
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Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 