((Apologies for the lack of posts over the past couple days. Dru and I are both college students, and with Spring Break coming up next week, our professors have naturally all scheduled exams for this week, so we've been busy with studying and schoolwork and stuff. Also there might have been a little bit of Mass Effect 3 in there. Yeah. Anyway, with tonight being a CSN+ game and me still having a presentation tomorrow and 100+ pages of reading for Thursday, I'm just gonna post my general thoughts on the game rather than our usual shenanigans.))
Well, it officially happened. The Caps have apparently been so bad lately that CSN decided to bump them to CSN+ tonight... In favor of World Poker Tour. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, CSN went all pre-lockout ESPN on our asses. And for the first period or two, it looked like they made the right call: Caps finished the first period in a 2-0 hole and I was beginning to worry tonight was going to end of being another one of THOSE games (because for some reason the Caps always have trouble with the Islanders, of all teams), and with the second period winding down and it looking like the Caps were going to go into the second intermission down 4-1, I steeled myself for the worst.
But then, in the last minute, a flash of life: The Captain managed to tip one in, cutting the deficit to two. As Locker constantly likes to remind us, scoring in the last minute of a period is a huge morale boost, and (also as Locker is fond of reminding us), the two-goal lead is the worst lead in hockey. So I can into the third with the teeniest glimmer of hope.
And it paid off early: Less than two minutes in, Dmitry Orlov (who's looking like more and more of a stud with every game he plays) scored what Locker adaquately described as a goal-scorer's goal, walking the puck into the slot, deking to his forehand, and beating Nabokov to cut the Isles' lead to one. At this point, Locker made his rather predictable declaration that the next goal won. And guess what? Alex Ovechkin buried another one at around the ten minute mark on a hard-working play that saw him get three whacks at his own rebound before the puck finally found its way through Nabokov to tie the game. Neuvy made a couple of solid-to-spectacular saves to keep the game tied, and we found ourselves in overtime. More goodness from Neuvy to take this one to the shootout.
The first shooter for both teams missed, but Tavares drew first blood with the Isles' second shot. Luckily for the Caps, The Great Eight buried a beautiful deke to keep the Caps alive. Neuvy made the save on Moulson, and Dale Hunter tapped Dmitry Orlov to be the hero. As awesome as it would have been for Orlov to win it, it wasn't meant to be. However, Neuvy had his back and made the next save on Streit. Enter Matt Hendricks, who scored to bring home the W for the Caps.
So in the end, the joke was on CSN. What started as just another letdown game by the Caps morphed into an elating come-from-behind shootout victory, with a star-quality performance from Alex Ovechkin to boot. Oh, and you know who else had himself a solid game? Keith Aucion, who quietly finished the night with three assists. So grats to him.
Anyway, that's all for tonight. I now return to the wonderful world of Icelandic Sagas.
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