WASHINGTON — The Capitals finished checks, dived to block shots and clamped down defensively when they got the lead. Against the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Capitals improved their play and erased lingering murmurs that they were underachievers.Alexander Semin scored twice, Troy Brouwer tallied the tiebreaking goal midway through the second period, and Washington halted the New York Rangers' five-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory on Wednesday night."All through the lineup, guys were just playing tough," Brouwer said. "Not letting guys get free passes, even in front of our net, playing hard on the cycle, stuff like that. When you play tough, when you play hard, it makes it tough for the other team to create anything."That was the script that the Capitals the lead for good, when Brouwer atoned for misfiring at an empty net late in the first period on a man advantage.With the game tied 1-1, Brouwer got tangled with Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh in front of the New York net. Brouwer not only screened goalie Martin Biron but redirected John Carlson's drive from the left point for his 10th goal of the season at 10:24."I'm put out on the power play to score goals, do a good job in front of the net," Brouwer said of his earlier miss. "For me, that's an unacceptable play. It's got to be in the back of the net."Marcus Johansson also scored for the Capitals, who snapped a two-game skid. Alex Ovechkin had two assists.Brandon Dubinsky scored for the Rangers, 7-3 in their last 10 games. Marian Gaborik, tied for the NHL lead with 22 goals, had his run of five straight games with a goal stopped.New York dropped one point behind Boston in the Eastern Conference race."Turnovers, not against their third or fourth lines, but against their top line — it killed us," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "That's what's frustrating. I thought we beat ourselves a little bit there in those situations. They're an opportunistic team (and) we didn't defend."Turnovers led to Semin's two goals, which turned a one-goal Washington lead into a comfortable margin."He's a sniper and he can score, but he played the right way," Capitals coach Dale Hunter said. "He was back-checking and he created opportunities because of defense. That whole line, that's what we needed from them."Tomas Vokoun, making his first start in six games, made 31 saves for the victory. Fifteen of those stops came in the third period, and Washington killed five New York power plays."We played with a lot of emotion, and guys battled hard, especially on penalty kill and all around," Vokoun said.Bruins 2, Coyotes 1 (OT)In Glendale, Arizona, defenseman Dennis Seidenberg scored 58 seconds into overtime to lift Boston over Phoenix.Devils 3, Sabres 1In Newark, New Jersey, Petr Sykora scored two goals to lead the Devils over Buffalo.Predators 2, Wild 1 (SO)In Nashville, Colin Wilson scored the only goal in the shootout, and the Predators sent Minnesota to its eighth straight loss.Jonathon Blum scored for the Predators, with an assist from Wilson, to give Nashville a 1-0 lead 7 minutes into the third period. Dany Heatley tied it for the Wild with 3:59 remaining in regulation.Kings 2, Blackhawks 0In Chicago, Jonathan Quick made 38 saves to earn his NHL-leading fifth shutout, and Trent Hunter and Jarret Stoll scored to lead Los Angeles past the Blackhawks.Canucks 3, Sharks 2 (OT)In San Jose, Andrew Ebbett redirected Kevin Bieksa's shot into the net at 3:23 of overtime to give Vancouver a victory over the Sharks.Roberto Luongo made 33 saves and improved to 9-1-1 in his last 11 games.
Showing posts with label Capitals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Capitals. Show all posts
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Red Wings sweep Coyotes; Capitals top Rangers in 2OT
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Danny Cleary shot from behind the post, squeezing the puck through a hole seemingly no wider than a skate blade. Todd Bertuzzi muscled an opponent and the puck to the front of the crease, getting a fortunate bounce to find the net.
Hanging on: Buffalo's Tyler Myers controls the puck as Philadelphia's Ville Leino tries to slow him down in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night. AP PHOTO
Two goals in 2 minutes and the Detroit Red Wings were headed into the next round, the Phoenix Coyotes toward an uncertain future.
Detroit counterpunched Phoenix's best shot through two periods and dominated with a flurry in the third, sweeping the Coyotes out of the playoffs and possibly out of the desert with a 6-3 victory Wednesday night.
"We knew they were going to come out and play with their best effort and I thought they did, but we really wanted to win tonight," Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said.
So did Phoenix. With the ownership situation still brewing at two years and counting, the Coyotes wanted to go out as winners in what could be their last game in the desert.
Detroit won Game 3 on four quick-hitting goals during a whiteout at Jobing.com Arena and used its depth to wear down Phoenix in a Game 4 that was more of a dusting of white, but just as juiced.
Tomas Holmstrom, Patrick Eaves and Niklas Kronwall scored in the goal-trading first two periods, then Cleary squeezed a deflating score between goalie Ilya Bryzgalov's skate and the post with 6:19 left in the game. Bertuzzi made it a two-goal lead by knocking a shot off Coyotes defenseman David Schlemko's skate 1:53 later, and Eaves sealed the sweep with his second goal on an empty net.
Capitals 4, Rangers 3 (2OT)
In New York, Jason Chimera scored in double overtime to complete Washington's three-goal comeback that pushed the Rangers to the brink of playoff elimination.
New York scored three times in the second period to take a 3-0 lead and seemed poised to head back to Washington for Game 5 on Saturday with the series squared. But the top-seeded Capitals fought back and moved within one win of advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Alexander Semin started Washington's rally, and Marcus Johansson scored twice in the third to make it 3-3.
The Rangers built their big lead on a goal by Artem Anisimov and tallies just 7 seconds apart by Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky.
Penguins 3, Lightning 2 (2OT)
In Tampa, James Neal scored the winner in double overtime as Pittsburgh beat Tampa Bay to take a 3-1 series lead.
Neal gathered a loose puck along the boards and sent the winning shot past goalie Dwayne Roloson.
Sabres 1, Flyers 0
In Buffalo, the hosts beat Philadelphia to even their series 2-2, with Ryan Miller making 32 saves for his second shutout of the playoffs.
Jason Pominville scored at 9:38 of the first period.
Ducks 6, Predators 3
In Nashville, Anaheim's Corey Perry's netted a short-handed goal early in the third period put the Ducks ahead to stay.
Cam Fowler had a power-play goal and an assist, and Ryan Getzlaf, Brandon McMillan, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu added goals as the Ducks tied the series 2-2.
Hanging on: Buffalo's Tyler Myers controls the puck as Philadelphia's Ville Leino tries to slow him down in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night. AP PHOTO
Two goals in 2 minutes and the Detroit Red Wings were headed into the next round, the Phoenix Coyotes toward an uncertain future.
Detroit counterpunched Phoenix's best shot through two periods and dominated with a flurry in the third, sweeping the Coyotes out of the playoffs and possibly out of the desert with a 6-3 victory Wednesday night.
"We knew they were going to come out and play with their best effort and I thought they did, but we really wanted to win tonight," Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said.
So did Phoenix. With the ownership situation still brewing at two years and counting, the Coyotes wanted to go out as winners in what could be their last game in the desert.
Detroit won Game 3 on four quick-hitting goals during a whiteout at Jobing.com Arena and used its depth to wear down Phoenix in a Game 4 that was more of a dusting of white, but just as juiced.
Tomas Holmstrom, Patrick Eaves and Niklas Kronwall scored in the goal-trading first two periods, then Cleary squeezed a deflating score between goalie Ilya Bryzgalov's skate and the post with 6:19 left in the game. Bertuzzi made it a two-goal lead by knocking a shot off Coyotes defenseman David Schlemko's skate 1:53 later, and Eaves sealed the sweep with his second goal on an empty net.
Capitals 4, Rangers 3 (2OT)
In New York, Jason Chimera scored in double overtime to complete Washington's three-goal comeback that pushed the Rangers to the brink of playoff elimination.
New York scored three times in the second period to take a 3-0 lead and seemed poised to head back to Washington for Game 5 on Saturday with the series squared. But the top-seeded Capitals fought back and moved within one win of advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Alexander Semin started Washington's rally, and Marcus Johansson scored twice in the third to make it 3-3.
The Rangers built their big lead on a goal by Artem Anisimov and tallies just 7 seconds apart by Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky.
Penguins 3, Lightning 2 (2OT)
In Tampa, James Neal scored the winner in double overtime as Pittsburgh beat Tampa Bay to take a 3-1 series lead.
Neal gathered a loose puck along the boards and sent the winning shot past goalie Dwayne Roloson.
Sabres 1, Flyers 0
In Buffalo, the hosts beat Philadelphia to even their series 2-2, with Ryan Miller making 32 saves for his second shutout of the playoffs.
Jason Pominville scored at 9:38 of the first period.
Ducks 6, Predators 3
In Nashville, Anaheim's Corey Perry's netted a short-handed goal early in the third period put the Ducks ahead to stay.
Cam Fowler had a power-play goal and an assist, and Ryan Getzlaf, Brandon McMillan, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu added goals as the Ducks tied the series 2-2.
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