We love you Ovie, oh yes we do. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)Capitals 5, Thrashers 2: So many easily divisible numbers, so little time! The Caps were presented with their Presidents’ Trophy — which team captain Alexander Ovechkin refused to acknowledge. (Oh, those pucksters and their superstitions.) Ovechkin then notched his 50th goal of the season, a game-winner in the third period and his second of the game, and a goal which pushed him past Sidney Crosby (again) in the race for the NHL goal-scoring crown. Nicklas Backstrom notched point number 100 on that second Ovie goal. (Split the puck, I guess?) The Caps’ fifth straight victory tied a franchise record as their 30th home win of the season. Jose Theodore got the win, marking the fourth time in his career he has reached the thirty-win plateau.
Mets 8, Nationals 2: Our warm fuzzy feelings about the Nationals bullpen lasted all of one day. In the series opener at New York, the pen had to come on early after Nats starter Garrett Mock walked five in 3 1/3 innings. They then proceeded to allow six runs in the remaining 4 2/3 frames. Despite Ian Desmond again providing a spark — posting Washington to a 2-0 second inning lead with a base-clearing triple — Nationals pitching was just too awful to make it a game. The Mets had never had two players hit each hit two homers at newish Citi Field before, nor had they hit four home runs in a game at the park. But the Nats’ staff made Jeff Francoeur and Rod Barajas look like Maris and Mantle, despite the blustery conditions. You don’t have to dig too deep into the box score to see how much the five pitchers Jim Riggleman used tonight struggled: the top four hitters in the Mets lineup saw 92 pitches. Anyone care to throw a strike?
Wizards 106, Celtics 96: Despite conceding 42 points in the final quarter, the Wizards put a serious dent in the Celtics’ postseason confidence with a surprising win in Beantown. The trio of Andray Blatche, Shaun Livingston and Nick Young scored a combined 75 points and Washington, who was up 21 at halftime, got to the line 35 times while limited Boston’s big three to just 31 percent (11-35) shooting from the field.
