The Washington Capitals will face-off with the rival Pittsburgh Penguins for Game 6 tonight at 8 PM. With the series sitting at 3-2 in favor of the Penguins, the President’s Cup winner is on the brink of elimination.
Let’s recap briefly:
From the blind-eye, the Capitals have generally outplayed Pittsburgh, but with a few unlucky bounces of the puck going against them, they now stare at elimination.
Braden Holtby holds a stellar 1.53 GAA (goals allowed against) in the postseason up to date, and the offense is generating a hefty number of shots on the opposing net-minder. The defense has given up too many penalties through five games and must reduce the time in the box if they want to live to see Game 7.
However, one obstacle has stood in the way of the Capitals from putting the Penguins away — 21 year old goaltender Matt Murray. He is a big reason, if not the main reason, why the Penguins are leading the series.
In Pittsburgh’s three wins, Murray has stoned the Capitals — stopping 95.4 percent of the shots in those games. In two losses, he has yet to stop 90 percent of shots faced.
The Capitals defense has kept Sidney Crosby in check all series, with Crosby failing to score in the five games played and tallying only two assists. The defense is forcing other members of the team to generate offense, and generally speaking, the Capitals defense has held up for the most part.
With Washington on the brink of elimination, the team faces an adversity they have yet to have together (something we were hoping they would never have this postseason). However, this new-found sense of urgency might be something that they needed after all.
If Washington is able to win tonight in Pittsburgh and bring the series back to the Verizon Center for Game 7, it may be the most energized the Nation’s Capital has been in a long time.
This team is filled with more weapons and leaders than ever before.
All year long, Capitals fans have convinced themselves that this year will be different, and this is a different team. Tonight is the test of if we have all been living in a fantasy world, or we may be on to something after all.
