Caps Hold Serve

The 'experts' on MSG were quick to point out that Lundqvist gave up a soft goal by Jason Chimera and Joe even claimed that Lundqvistt gave up two soft goals. The lame stream media chimed in this morning on Lundqvists 'spotty goal'. I don't buy it. At least I don't buy the criticism of Lundqvist.

The 'spotty goal' gave the Caps a 3-1 lead. He makes the save, we lose 2-1. The Rangers can't score goals. Forget that 14 goal  outburst against Florida and Buffalo. That was an accident. The Rangers came out as spectators as the Caps piled up a 12-1 shot advantage. Sure the Rangers turned it around and finished with a 36-30 edge but Holtby made few acrobatic saves.

After Ovechkin tied in on a PP it was all Caps. Girardi and McDonagh were so obsessed with watching the Big O that they let Marcus Johansson slip behind them for a game clinching breakaway goal, which Joe blamed on Lundqvist. But the Rangers can't score. They were 0-4 on the PP including a 5-3 segment for 45 seconds with the score tied. The PP has been a disaster under two coaches, Clueless and disagreeable.

Carl Hageline played well for the Rangers After scoring the opening goal off of Cap D-man John Erskine he could have been the hero by beating Holtby on a breakaway but was stopped and later hit the post. So that there could have been a Hagelin hat trick and star of the game. But to no avail.

So the bottom line is that the Caps held serve on their home ice. This is still going to be a tough seven game series. Unless the Rangers get their act together on offense it's going to be a torturous series. Many ups and downs and in the end we have the great equalizer, and then some, in Henrik Lundqvist, regardless of what Joe and the lame stream media say.

ICINGS: I can't figure out for the life of me why John Moore didn't score a goal. Goalie Braden Holtby had part of his back in the net, behind the goal line, and Moore's shot went off of Holtby's back and seemed to stay there. If the back is behind the goal line and the puck is laying on his back, why no goal?  Replays showed no puck. No puck, no goal. Better puck next time.