Washington aims to take 2-0 series lead tonight
They will not have to fight from behind this time.
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After losing three of the first four games of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the New York Rangers, the Capitals got off to a strong start in the Eastern Conference semifinals with Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Their rookie goalie, Simeon Varlamov, shook off a soft goal and made one of the most spectacular saves in the NHL all season. They received secondary scoring from forwards David Steckel and Tomas Fleischmann. And star left wing Alex Ovechkin made Pittsburgh pay for taking a pair of penalties late in the first period.
Of course, it was just one game. The Caps will have to be ready again tonight when they host the Penguins in Game 2 of their best-of-seven series at Verizon Center.
“We thought [Pittsburgh] played pretty well [Saturday],” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters after Sunday’s optional practice. “This is a team that went to the Stanley Cup finals and knows what winning is all about. They’re going to ramp it up pretty good.”
Pittsburgh also knows history is against it if it loses again. Because while Washington rallied from a 2-0 deficit against the Rangers, that kind of comeback has only happened 38 times out of 297 series (11.3 percent). Of the six first-round series that started 2-0 this postseason, only the Caps-Rangers made it to Game 7.
Washington likely will have to play better than it did in the opener to get that 2-0 series lead, however. The Caps conceded 36 shots to Pittsburgh and needed Varlamov to stop 34 of them. The rookie’s stats in seven postseason starts: a 1.29 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage, both ranked first among the 16 NHL playoff goalies prior to last night’s game between Boston and Carolina.
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