Skates? Ovie don’t need no stinkin’ skates. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Ryan Remiorz)Capitals 5, Canadiens 1: Most NHL early-round playoff series usually turn on one particular moment. As much as one can diagnose after but three games, the obvious choice for the Washington Capitals in their opening matchup with Montreal is Nicklas Backstrom’s inspiring Game 2 hat trick, which seemed to shake a mini-slump for the powerful Caps. But could it be that we’ll remember this series more for Jaroslav Halak’s shaky arm? Alexander Ovechkin said that he could tell Halak — who played fine in Game 1 — was vulnerable on Saturday night because his arm was shaking during a break in the action. Dan Steinberg goes Zapruder-style and concludes that, indeed, Halak’s arm was “shaking like a feather floating over an Icelandic volcano.” If there was any doubt that Halak was rattled by the Caps’ spirited comeback, it was eliminated on Monday night. Washington skated rampant over a Montreal team that was oh-so-close to taking a 2-0 series lead back to Quebec, knocking Halak out after three unanswered goals in the second period. Of course, Ovie can make any goalie look helpless; after Halak exited, the Russian proceeded to terrorize Habs backup Carey Price, scoring on a one-timer from his knees to cap a four-goal middle period. Semyon Varlamov got the start over Jose Theodore and likely hammered down the Game 4 start, recording 26 saves and looking sharp. The Caps offense absolutely brutalized the Canadiens at even strength — three Montreal skaters registered -4 ratings.
Nationals 5, Rockies 2: It’s kind of a bummer that the smallest crowd ever in Nationals Park’s brief history — 11,623 — was on hand Monday night to watch the Nationals rebound above .500 with an incredibly well-played game over Colorado. (Chalk it up to Caps fever, I suppose.) Starter Craig Stammen, whose four-out, seven-run effort last week against Philadelphia inspired one of the more depressing Last Night’s Action images in some time, was really working last night. Stammen needed only 94 pitches to get 24 outs, allowing only two runs while striking out five and walking only one, lowering his ERA by a full seven and a half runs. Willie Harris had two extra base hits and knocked in four runs, Ian Desmond made a fantastic diving pick and throw in the eighth, and big ol’ Adam Dunn stretched a lazy pop fly to center into a double by busting hard out of the box in the third inning, later scoring on a sac fly. Matt Capps finished Stammen’s good work in the ninth to earn his sixth save. Knock on wood, D.C., but the Nats — what with solid starting, pop from the bottom of the order, good defense, trusty fundamentals, and a legit closer — could just be a legitimate baseball team this summer.
