Ward's last-second goal lifts Caps
Joel Ward (42) celebrates his late Game 1 winner.(USATSI)
Every night during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Eye On Hockey writers Adam Gretz and Chris Peters will bring you up to speed everything you need to know about all of the action around the NHL. Here’s what you need to know about Rangers vs. Capitals Game 1.
New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals, Game 1
Capitals 2, Rangers 1 | Capitals lead series 1-0 | Game 2 Saturday
Game 1 in a nutshell: The Rangers came out flying and seemed to carry the play in the first, but a late-period goal by Alex Ovechkin gave the Caps the advantage where it mattered most. The game really evened out from the second period on and built right into a late third-period goal to tie it from the Rangers. Just when it looked like the game was going to overtime, Joel Ward beat the buzzer to give the Caps a huge Game 1 victory.
Turning point: Nicklas Backstrom delivered a hit on Dan Boyle to jostle a puck loose in the waning second of the game. Nine times out of 10, the defenseman successfully kills the clock there by pinning the puck against the boards, but Backstrom’s hit was at a bad angle that put Boyle to the ice. In some games that may be called a penalty, but it went without a whistle. The puck squirted free to Alex Ovechkin who centered it to Joel Ward for the game-winner with 1.4 seconds left on the clock.
Three things we learned
1. The goaltending duel between Braden Holtby and Henrik Lundqvist got off to a really good start. The Rangers’ pressure early really tested the Caps, but Holtby was solid, stopping 12 of 12 shots in the first. He made a total of 31 in the game to help the Caps hold on. Despite giving up the late goal, Lundqvist was mostly solid. He was under pressure from some of the Capitals’ best offensive players for a lot of the game and managed to make 27 saves. These two netminders are going to keep this series incredibly tight.
2. Alex Ovechkin is more than ready for the second round. The Washington captain was all over the ice in Game 1 and scored on one of his vintage hard wristers from distance that the goalie can only hope to stop. The shot had barely any space and it was about as perfect as you could place it. Lundqvist got a piece, but not enough. Ovechkin continued pouring it on and finished the game with six shots on goal. He also delivered the assist on Ward’s game-winner on a sneaky-good pass.
3. Get ready for some drama. This series is probably going to feature a lot of close games and many close calls. The decision at the end of the game to let Backstrom’s hit go unpenalized is going to be viewed very differently depending on your team allegiances. It’s borderline at best, though. And as we know in the playoffs, borderline plays are not often going to draw a whistle. Of course this one had to happen on the penultimate play of the game, which only increases scrutiny. That might (and I stress might) have been called as a check from behind or boarding in a regular season game, but those kind of things just don’t get called in the playoffs – whether you agree with that or not (and I generally don’t think the standard of officiating should change). That probably won’t be the last spot of controversy in this series, either.
Video of the game: This will be the play everyone is talking about in the buildup to Game 2, so might as well get to it again. You can check out a longer post on the game-winner here, but since you’re already reading this, here’s another look at Joel Ward’s buzzer-beating goal that clinched Game 1 for the Caps.
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