Capitals 4, Penguins 5 OT/SO (1-2)
Scoresheet – Wash Post – Trib Rev
The Capitals squandered their 4 goal lead, and the Penguins showed why they are so dangerous. The Caps just stopped playing and again failed to finish. Quick starts and bad endings will be the epitaph on the tombstone of the Capitals’ year at season’s end if they can’t bury teams.
This game lived up to it’s billing as being pretty exciting. But, for the Caps it didn’t need to be that way. That is what is so frustrating about being a Caps fan.
The Pens may not have wanted to start their game being four down, but getting to the shoot out was the best case scenario for them considering the Caps record this year in the shoot out.
The Capitals, who used to foam at the mouth to get it to the shoot out, had yet to win a game in the shoot out this season. That stat didn’t change. Olie Kolzig is not a shoot out goaltender, and the Caps couldn’t find the back of the net on a break away if they had a map and a Verizon Center tour guide.
Overall Grade: F
A great start and a bad finish gives the Caps the failing grade. They just stopped playing, stopped shooting, stopped everything after the fourth goal. Caps need to finish games and work on getting more consistent scoring. Caps earned a point, which is about the only good thing about this game past the second period.
Caps can’t dwell on this one too long, and hopefully this can spur this team into actually finishing their quick starts. They face Atlanta Friday and need to start getting more wins. At leas the Caps will have the week to “recover.”
2 comments:
1) Not sure what the announced attendance was, but it had to be a disappointment.
a) It was a giveaway night
b) The Caps were playing a big rival
c) The team has been playing well
d) It was a beutiful night weather-wise
e) No other D.C team was playing
2) Despite those factors, if not for the 3-4 thousand(conservative estimate) Pens fans there, the caps would have their usual 9-10,000 there. No excuse for that.
The official number attending the game is 14,793. The NHL did a better job of promoting this game in Canada than the Caps organization did in DC. I am sure that the marketing for this team is on the low end due to finances. As far as the crowd at the phone booth, it's one of the most frustrating things about being a Caps fan, no home ice advantage. Of course winning cures all ills, but we are just too far out for the DC bandwagon to start filling seats.
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