Needless to say, Varlamov in goal.

Stepper-uppers: Varlamov, Erskine, Semin.

Mehs so far: Ovechkin, Green, everybody else.

Game on.

Very LOUD crowd, 2:31 gone, and the Rangers are trying.

Now that he's got 2 good games under his belt, the pronounciation according to JB and CL is var LA mov, not VAR la mov as we've all been saying....

whatever, as long as he does the job. Rangers have 3 SOGs and 3 chances already....

Rags seem to be ready, tonight- a far cry from what the Caps did to them Monday. 14:20 left 1st, we've got a stoppage. Play continues.... 13:57 it's offside Caps, and a TV timeout.

13:42, offside Rangers. Avery is playing, counter to what most "fans" seemed to think, either a 1 game suspension for his "punch" at VarLAmov or a benching from Torts....

under 12:00 left 1st already, not sure the Caps have a SOG yet (and CL says the Caps got away with a trip, he's right).... under 11:00, and I have to admit I haven't seen or heard from Ovechkin, Semin, and Green- it's been all 3-4 liners.... now the Caps get a PP off a trip- Naslund in the box....

cleared immediately by the Rangers.... Ovie fires, Lundqvist stones him, and another penalty, this one against the Caps.... we go 4 on 4 for 1:20.

Nobody does nothin'.... 8:44 left 1st, TV timeout.... Rangers on the PP for :41....

killed. Good job. Playoff hockey- nothing spectacular, just lots of guys doing their jobs. Under 7:30 left 1st....  

VarLAmov stops Zherdev, but a few seconds later, it's a deflection (looks like off Erskine) and the Rangers take the early lead 1-0 with about 5:50 left- goal now is creditted to Naslund, but according to the TV guys is probably Mara.....

 TV timeout.

Replay shows JE indeed got a stick on it and deflected it past VarLAmov, and the in-house scoring now gives the goal to.... Dubinsky? We shall see..... Ovechkin shoots, Lundqvist saves.... Ovie steals, drop pass to Fedorov- OFF THE CROSSBAR and out.... late scrum with 3:26 left 1st, and the officials try a little ice repair.... VarLAmov's shutout streak was 126:17....

Caps on the PP now.... nothing for the first :40.... cleared at 1:01 PP....  both Semin and Ovechkin have had to get new sticks on this.... a SH charge, a penalty by Green, and the PP is over....

:19 of 4 on 4.... 1:41 Rags' PP.... under 1:00 left 1st.... :23.9 period, offside Rangers....

Caps clear.... :07.5, offside Rangers....

1-0 Rangers end 1st, Rags with :52 of PP to start the 2nd.

Good hockey, but not a great period for the Caps.

 

 

I'll be here for the rest of the game. Go, Caps!

2nd on, PP killed, Semin off the post, now Backstrom, off a bad line change by the Rangers, and Lundqvist saves....

already only 18:28 left 2nd.... 18:06....

 

Varlamov with some difficulties to clear a puck, and seconds later, Drury scores on a rebound! 2-0 Rangers.

And they get another opportunity.

At 17:37, a weak shot by the Rangers, off VarLAmov's glove- Drury the rebound and in.

2-0 Rangers. Caps on the PP at 17:06, maybe get back in this, but so far the Rangers have the decisive edge.

14:44 VarLAmov the save....

13:50, TV timeout.

 

Caps must stay calm and remember that they have much more talent than the Rangers. It was OK to lose two games by one goal, but they are not going to get dominated by the Rangers, no. They'll come back. It requires some patience. There's still a lot of time left.

It's now that guys like Fedorov are important. He'll tell them what to do. They must stay out of box, and try things offensively, to get an opportunity or a call.

Great glove slave by Lundqvist on a slap shot by Ovechkin! The crowd is loud.

9:51, a TV timeout. Sorry, folding laundry was more important in life than the Caps, at this moment.

You can "see" the future, but tonight I have to say the Caps are done for the year. Will be nice to see them Friday, and I probably should take the morning off to get Fedorov's auto on my blood shirt and on "Yogi", but probably not. It's been a fun season.

Roszival to the box, Caps with a fourth PP chance.

Don't bury them too soon, they'll score in this period.

Caps on the PP, but Lundqvist is more than a match for them.

killed.... lots of action, no results.

And a great save by Lundqvist, but it's not over, although PP is over, and another great save by Lundqvist!

Don't bury them too soon, they'll score in this period.

I was just telling misto, they're done. You haven't seen them enough.

Great season, growing team, but done for the year. They may even win at home Friday, but they're finished- tonight, Ovechkin, Semin, green pretty much invisible, and no one else steps up (what else is new).

Scoring in this period isn't all that important- they need to win, and if you're honest, you'll admit they won't. Semin denied.... "looked like Semin had him beat, one of his bread and butter moves" says CL.... tell you anything?

Done.

Over.

Kaput.

Finito.

 

Not much time left to come back. I feel we'll get a goal from a 4th liner.

End of second.

Hehe, yes, it doesn't sound good, but they still have enough talent to find the resources.

Losing two at home was the big mistake. They didn't have offense and defense in the same game.

We'll see.

Bradley the interview- "they're doing the little extra things you have to do to win...."

Vogel (that I often called "Kolbe's buddy") mentioning that the Caps were 17-3 in shots after Drury's goal.

Let's say that the whole series will depend on this third period, that just started.

Dubinsky is 12-2 in faceoffs tonight....

10% of 3rd gone....

OVECHKIN SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORES!!!!!!!! A laser beam! 2-1.

Yeah, but only cut the deficit down. Still losing, and time is ticking away.

10% of the period gone (even more now), but half the job made.

Well, 1/3, actually, or even less. Gotta score two more goals while being perfect in goal, that's still a lot to do.

Semin denied by Lunqvist, another chance, wide!

"Rangers starting to wilt a little bit" according to CL.... I'll believe it when I see it.

Since the start of the 2nd SOGs are 22-7 Caps.....

Avery with another cheap shot.

So Caps on their 5th PP with Avery in box for roughing. They really need to score here or soon after.

Bing! Ovechkin hits the goal post! And now a broken stick!

Great PP I'd say from Kolbe's account, but no goal, and now a Cap gets called.

Nothing.... and now a Rags' PP....

Fixing a glass pane "good for the Rangers" according to CL- more time to breathe and think about what to do....

7:30 left in regulation- 37.5% of the period....

Cleared at 1:40 PP.... again at :53 PP.... Varly save.... killed at 5:30 left reg....

Penalty killed, and awesome glove save by Lundqvist on a shot by Ovechkin! The save of the game, according to Vogel.

"King Henrik"....

3:20 to go.

And Avery helping the Caps again. Booed by some fans. Caps on the PP.

Avery a high stick, and the Caps get the final late PP with 3:06 left reg....

PP killed, empty net, extra attacker, with less than a minute left... save by Lundqvist on Tom Poti.

4 clears and a kill, :50.1 left in reg.... BB takes his timeout....

EN.... chances for the Rags, chances for the Caps.....

2-1 Rangers, final.

 

 

Rangers with a shot at the empty net, wide.

Final buzz. Rangers lead 3-1.

Caps were down 3-1 last year and only lost in OT of game 7, and they were weaker than now. I still believe in their chances.

I want to believe in their chances, hehe.

Good night, Roger.

Glad you still believe- having seen what I've seen this season, they're done in my mind. They've improved, they're still young and growing, but they need 3-4 more pieces to really be a "contender".

1 They need a RW for Ovechkin, 2 they need 1-2 stalwart Dmen, 3  they need a coach that can motivate in the playoffs, and 4 they need a GM that will build a team that can compete in the PLAYOFFS, not just in the regular season.

I still believe that the Caps will this .
Not because I think they(Caps) are world beaters but because I believe that the Rangers are a weak team .

No excuses at all to lose the series to this Rangers team



ps
Telus Cup
Notre Dame are 2-0-1 after 3 games
hope they make it to the finals cause TSN we be showing it !!!!!!!!
my nephew potted a goal in ND's 11-3 win today