GDT: Round 2, Game 2 Canes @ Caps 5/8 7:00

[StormChaserBH]

McMichael slashed Stankoven as the game was ending and Stanky went to pay him back with interest... Tempers flared, naughty words exchanged, stripes got in the way before anything else went down.

 

[NoMich]

This is all according to plan. Win 1 in Warshington, 2 at home, then 1 more at home. Done and done.

 

[andyt]

It was a 1 goal game and that goal came off Ghost’s throat. I’m not that worried…yet.

Ovechkin didn’t play the last 5:41. Ferraro thought it was a coaches decision because he couldn’t match the pace. Strome only played 2 shifts after that and 1 was the last 37 seconds of the game. Eller didn’t play the last 12:41 of the game. If they’re gonna play 2 lines, the Canes are gonna run them into the ground the next 2.

 

[polarbare]

So a number8 was benched because he's old and slow?

Wish I had that problem...

 

[jeffbear]

Yeah, nothing particularly surprising about last night. Washington found their game plan and executed it pretty well (particularly chipping over Burns and Orlov), which forced Carolina into more of an open game than they wanted. Thompson was terrific, while Freddie was just OK, but in the end it was a freak play that led to McMichael's breakaway that was the only thing in the game for a LONG time. Then Carolina's PK finally cracked on a really nice wrinkle from the Caps' power play unit and that was that. Good push-back from Carolina as they found their grind in the 3rd and eventually got one of their own. But, yeah. Nothing you couldn't have scripted in advance, really.

So, back to Raleigh with the series tied at 1-1. That's a check in the Canes column and now they get to see if they can hold serve at home with last change. I'll take it

 

[jeffbear]

So a number8 was benched because he's old and slow?

Wish I had that problem...

They've been doing that when they're sitting on a small lead for most of the season ... certainly since Ovechkin came back from that injury. The dude is not just old, he's never been a natural defender when the job entails something more than throwing his body around.

I did think Carberry's decision to not just shorten his bench but basically gut it was a bit desperate for this early in proceedings. Rod's been in the playoff trenches for 7 straight years, but sometimes I forget that Carberry's quite new to this. This is just his third round of NHL playoffs. A 7 game series is long enough when you play everybody. It gets REALLY freaking long when you play 5 D and 6 or 7 forwards.

 

[Christer]

I have no idea what happened to the team in the second period. One d-man chips the puck into the face of the other d-man, incapacitating him and causing a turnover the opponents score on. Mr Bean couldn't have done it better himself.

 

[jeffbear]

I have no idea what happened to the team in the second period. One d-man chips the puck into the face of the other d-man, incapacitating him and causing a turnover the opponents score on. Mr Bean couldn't have done it better himself.

I mean, that kind of crap happens. Earlier in the playoffs somebody got a breakaway on a weird carom off a linesman.

I'm more concerned about the general flow of play in the second period. There was way too much trading of rushes without a lot of control from the Canes. They got it sorted in the third but that's NOT what Carolina wants against basically anyone left in these playoffs.