Caps Briefing: Kozlov Delivers After Ovechkin's Milestone
Last night in Raleigh, North Carolina, Alexander Ovechkin broke a 1-1 tie half way through the second period with his 61st goal of the season. That's the most goals scored in one season by any Capital ever. It's also enough, with five crucial games left in the regular season, to give Ovechkin time to pass Luc Robitaille's all time record of 63 goals in a season by a left wing.
More importantly, Viktor Kozlov scored a tie-breaking shootout goal after overtime, helping the Capitals win a game that keeps their playoff hopes alive. The Capitals came into last night's game two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference (a win is two points, an overtime or shootout loss is one) and five points behind their opponent, the Carolina Hurricanes, for first place in the Southeast Division. Naturally, things got violent.
In any hockey game, there are players who are expected to hit each other. They aren't the best goal scorers or skaters, but they provide toughness to support the players that are. It's only when the stakes are really high that the skilled guys get violent. Last night, Carolina's best player, Eric Staal, tripped Caps goalie Cristobal Huet. Not to be outdone, Ovechkin punched Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason in the back of the head. Now that the dust has settled, the Caps have a clear view to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker
The way the Hurricanes are playing, it will be very difficult for the Caps to pass them for the division lead (which carries an automatic playoff spot). Boston also won last night, maintaining their two point lead for eighth place over the Capitals. Even though their best center is injured, Boston has a game in hand against the Caps and will be difficult to catch. Fortunately, though, the seventh-place Philadelphia Flyers lost last night, and slid to just two points ahead of Boston.
Philadelphia could be within reach. Of the five games each team has left, the Flyers have two at home, and the Caps have three. Home games are easier to win because the home team gets the last line change before each face-off, allowing the home coach to create favorable matchups for his players.
Even better for Washington, The Flyers have two games left against the Atlantic Division leading Pittsburgh Penguins, and two more against the New Jersey Devils. The Penguins are gearing up for a run at the Stanley Cup and the Devils play suffocating defense. Those are four games that the Flyers will be lucky to win two of.
The Caps, meanwhile, have two games each against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers. The Panthers are five points out of the playoffs and have been experimenting lately with a rookie goaltender (c.f. Matt Yates). The Lightning are in 29th place in the NHL and 15th in the East. They traded their starting goalie and their second line center to Dallas on the same day the Caps picked up Huet and second line center Sergei Fedorov. The Lightning's leading scorer, Vincent Lecavalier, who has always played well against Washington, is out with a wrist injury.
It will take some stumbles from Philadelphia, and the Caps do have to face the Hurricanes one more time, but after winning last night, they have a very realistic chance to make the playoffs.