7:41: The puck she drops, and I'm already flustered. I need a break from life so I can blog more.
7:42: Finally getting a replay of the Ovi sprint back down the ice to negate the icing. Key factor to his success? He led w/ his face. All the way to the glass. Hope the youngsters at home are taking notes.
7:44: Three minutes in and the teams have exchanged scoring opportunities. If this is any indication of how the game will go, I suspect that we'll see a little more scoring this go 'round. May be time to ready the Tums.
7:47: First 'Ovie Sucks' chant of the night. Cute the first time but terribly unoriginal. Really, there may be no more overrated hockey crowd than the MSG 'faithful'.
7:55: Nine minutes in, Caps just miss on a great two-on-one chance. Semin passed up the chance to shoot and judging by the commentary, you'd have thought the earth shattered. Settle down boys.
7:57: Rangers strike w/ nine to play. Seemed like a matter of time w/ the disparity in shots in favor of NY. I wonder how well antacids mix w/ dark beer.
8:00: Didn't catch this initially but that was Dennis Wideman on the ice for that NY tally. Just saying.
8:02: First 14 minutes of this period have not been kind to DC. Soft goal against Holtby, way too much time in the defensive zone, and now the Caps head to the PK. PS: Tums & beer? Not bad.
8:07: Ask any male, heterosexual Caps fan who they would want to get a one bed apartment with. The answer will surely be Matt Hendricks. Oh, Caps killed the Hamrlik minor penalty.
8:11: Chimera fires one into Lundqvist and takes a late hit from Del Zotto. I'm sensing imminent decapitation.
8:13: Del Zotto hooks Semin & gets two for his efforts. He's safe for two minutes at least.
8:15: First period closes and the Caps will have less than 15 tics on the power play to start the second. Urge to kill ... rising.
8:16: Sidenote - Wideman had a nice little turnover in the Caps' defensive zone at the start of the PP. Fortunately for him he had help. Unfortunately for Caps fans he's still under contract.
8:19: Best thing about the game so far? No Mike Milbury. My heart, she sings.
8:21: During his analysis, Jeremy Roenick says the word 'boom' no less than 12 times. Somewhere, John Madden is blushing like a schoolgirl.
8:27: Sidenote - This has nothing to do w/ hockey but ... 'The Avengers' ruled. A full-on, two hour nerdgasm. If I survive this game, I'm carving out an afternoon and catching a matinee. Pants may or may not be on.
8:32: Second period underway, and we see a graphic showing the Rangers' advantage in shots. 17-4 and nary a shot for any of the big three. Given the number and quality of opportunities, the Caps are lucky to be down one.
8:34: Girardi mauls Mike Green but refs nab 52 on the retaliation. Two mins slashing minor for Clarendon's most eligible bachelor.
8:36: Caps kill it off but this has not been a fun game to watch so far.
8:39: Ward hustles up ice and draws another penalty on Del Zotto. Safe to say he's been the Caps' MVP thus far. Del Zotto that is.
8:42: At least a trio of golden opportunities for the Caps as the PP tics off. Enjoying the pace right now but Lundqvist is looking scary good right now.
8:47: Just like that, Laich punches one home. Great screen by Brouwer to screen Lundqvist. FYI if Hendricks and I needed a roommate, best believe it would be Troy Brouwer.
8:51: How does Jeff Schultz follow-up a decent three minute stretch for the Caps? He turns the puck over off an easy pass near neutral ice. I pray he and Wideman get lost on the way to the locker room between periods. Every game.
8:55: Not to be outdone, John Carlson chips one out and gets two minutes for a delay of game. He gets a pass for the rug commercials. Not this.
8:57: Terrifying PK. Green had a couple good blocks but totally lost track of Gaborik behind him as he moved into the crease. Caps were lucky the centering pass skipped over his stick.
9:00: Four minutes left in the second. Holtby hasn't looked as solid but the replays show just how quick he's had to react all night. Great awareness. Heart his effort
9:04: Odd sequence as the period winds down. I'm pretty sure Ovie and Green both shot at the same puck. At the same damn time. Only in DC.
9:06: Our long, national nightmare is over. Caps escape the period with the score knotted at 1. My heart will get a 15 minute reprieve.
9:23: Start of the third period. This last frame is being brought to you by Great Lakes Brewing's Elliot Ness Amber Lager. I'm not sponsored by them, I'm just enjoying the hell out of the buzz it's giving me.
9:26: After an initial surge by the Rangers, Caps respond w/ a buzz in front of Lundqvist. Three minutes in and again, Ward draws another penalty against NY. Rupp gets two for hooking.
9:30: Johnny C makes up for bad tapestry commercials and bad penalties. Power play strike from 74 gives DC a 2-1 advantage.
9:36: Thirteen minutes to play and I honestly do not recall a single Ovie shot attempt all night. Meanwhile Backstrom pings the pipe on a breakaway. Is there any question who's the most important Cap on the ice?
9:39: Wideman draws a highsticking minor on Kreider. This is what I would call "Step on the neck" time for DC.
9:42: Rangers poised to kill this penalty. If you're keeping score at home, the Caps continued that whacky bit where they start off a penalty by losing the faceoff and letting the D clear one to the other end. A good 'go-to' move for the Caps.
9:44: More whacky bits, this time by Semin. You know the one he does when he has a breakaway opportunity and then thinks, "Man, I'm an absolute sniper but an ill-fated pass would be SO MUCH COOLER."
9:47: Quote from Grant Paulsen (of 1067thefandc.com): "Dennis Wideman taking that stick to the head was his most productive moment of this postseaon." Truer words never spoken.
9:50: Four minutes to play, Caps protecting a one goal lead and NOW Hunter decides to double shift Ovie? NO EMOTICON FOR WHAT I'M FEELING.
9:53: Ovie blocks a shot, Laich buries one into Lundqvist's chest. I may black out.
9:56: Fifty five seconds. Pure terror.
9:57: Tortarella calls time for NYR, does zero coaching and makes the same, "I'm a complete douche" face he always makes.
10:01: There is no god.
10:02: Late double minor against Ward leads to a NYR goal with less than SEVEN FRIGGIN SECONDS to play. Oh, Rangers have just a hair under two minutes left to go on the PP to start OT. I ... can't speak.
10:05: The NHL's "Because it's the cup" campaign stinks. Should mimic the NBA and have the slogan be, "The NHL Playoffs: Where alcoholics are born". Beer #2.
10:18: Minute into OT and the extra frame is starting a lot like this game did. Rangers buzzing. Then again, so am I.
10:20: Kill me. Rangers take Game 5. And my soul.
10:27: Putting a bow on this before drowning my sorrows. The Ward penalty was awful but not insurmountable. Caps gave NY lots of opportunities in their own zone throughout the night but Holtby was largely able to bail out the D. They never seemed able to adjust and it was only a matter of time until it came back to haunt them.
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