What went wrong in game 2.

 

"If everything's under control, you're going too slow"

~ Mario Andretti, the only driver ever to win the Daytona 500 (1967), the Indianapolis 500 (1969) and the Formula One World Championship.

The plan selected by Boudreau for game 2 was perfect, avoid run and gun, play defense and Caps will win. However his plan was assuming that Caps would score first. And Ovechkin even said that in pre-game interview, "We need to score first." Unfortunately for Caps it was opposite and Caps didn't switch to another plan after that. Was it correct? I'd say, only when you had enough time. As time went on, it was clear Caps didn't have plan 2. They had everything under control, and they were going "too slow".

It was Rangers, not Caps who were one goal ahead of Caps, it was Rangers who controlled the game. And they controlled it as if they were playing at home. This is where Caps missed Brashear, a guy who could hit, a guy who could instill fear when Caps and Rags where pushing and shoving each other.

Something was needed to change the momentum, a goal by Ovechkin (didn't happen), shoving Lundquist like Avery did to Theodore, a fight, anything... But nothing happened... everything was "under control".

The issue with Caps being a big team is a nonsense. Schultz? Kozlov? Steckel? Fehr ? These guys won't hurt a fly. They don't have a mean streak in them.

Put Brash and Captain Clark in lineup, go on edge, challenge Rags in their own stinking home rink, get out of your comfort zone, do something...

This time or never.



By JEFF Z. KLEIN, Slap Shot, NYT, Apr. 18, 2009:

WASHINGTON–The Capitals are a successful, easygoing organization on and off the ice. But what will become of them if they can’t recover from the 0-games-to-2 hole they find themselves in against the Rangers in this opening round?

They would no longer necessarily be a team of the future; they’d be a team that has to prove they’re not overachievers, choke artists or soft in the playoffs.

That would be hard to deal with. Their fans’ optimism might turn to bitterness amid the reminders that the Caps have not won a playoff series since their anomalous 1998 run to the Cup final. Would owner Ted Leonsis’s repeated pledge to stick with the same lovable coach, Bruce Boudreau, and the same youthful core start to sound like stubborn refusal to recognize that something is lacking? Or would Leonsis have to turn against the men he has supported so publicly?

It’s early to be asking these questions – the Rangers have not won this series by any means. But by the same token, they are only two home wins from a sweep. Really, the Capitals are in crisis right now, and it will be interesting to see if they are able to handle that without abandoning their personality.

What I’m really afraid of, though, is the grim revelation that if you’re having a good time and bringing joy to the people around you, you can’t win.

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