Nothing new for Washington

Published May 10, 2009 4:00am ET



Caps 5-1 under Boudreau when facing elimination

The Capitals have fared well under coach Bruce Boudreau with their season on the line. Washington is 5-1 in the last two Stanley Cup playoff seasons when facing elimination.

“I think we play some of our best hockey in these do-or-die moments,” said Caps defenseman Tom Poti. “I don’t know why. It’s tough to explain. I wish I had an answer.”

They’ll need one tonight if the season is to continue. Here is the complete list of Caps’ elimination games from the last two springs:

April 19, 2008 »  Caps 3, Flyers 2

Nicklas Backstrom, Sergei Fedorov and Alex Semin all scored for the Caps, who avoided elimination at home in Game 5 after falling behind 3-1 in the series.

April 21, 2008 »  Caps 4, Flyers 2

Down and out in front of a hostile Game 6 crowd at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, the Caps rallied from a 2-0 deficit. Alex Ovechkin scored the game’s final three goals for a hat trick.

April 22, 2008 »  Flyers 3, Caps 2 (OT)

The one that got away. Ovechkin tied Game 7 with 4:31 left, but Joffrey Lupul scored the OT game-winner on a power play to stun the Verizon Center crowd and end the season.

April 24, 2009 »  Caps 4, Rangers 0

Down 3-1 in the series, the Caps controlled Game 5 at Verizon Center from the start as Matt Bradley scored two goals to stake his team to an early lead.

April 26, 2009 »  Caps 5, Rangers 3

Game 6 at Madison Square Garden was no contest. The Caps led 5-1 after the second period. Defenseman Tom Poti had a goal and three assists.

April 28, 2009 »  Caps 2, Rangers 1

Game 7 was a classic. The teams were tied at 1 for most of night — until Sergei Fedorov scored with just 4:59 left to blow the roof off Verizon Center.

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