That is what we have to do now. It is win or go home time again. We played a fine game last night as did Pittsburgh. The difference in both our team’s play is very small. We can’t whine about the outcome. We must remain positive and focus on the task at hand on Monday night.
I thought both teams played brilliantly last night. It was great playoff hockey and it showcased the best the NHL has to offer.
We have the odds stacked against us now so what else is new? Eighty-five percent of the time, the team that wins Game 5 and then plays Game 6 at home wins the series. We have faced long odds before. We must remain upbeat; play one shift at a time; win out period by period; and we must stay focused for a full 60 minutes. If we do that, we can come home for a Game 7. Pittsburgh is a great team and played very well last night although I thought we deserved better. Our play was of high quality and we played to our capabilities.
I was thinking as I walked out of the building last night that in ten years of ownership, nine seasons of play and five playoff series; WE have never been up 5 men to 4 in OT. I remember losing two games to Tampa on a 5 on 3 and 5 on 4 in OT. I remember losing Game 7 last season to the Flyers in OT on a 5 on 4 and last night the same fate awaited us. I thought the officiating was good last night. There were only 3 penalties called all game. I thought we could have drawn 2 penalties in OT and been up 5 men on 4 but thus we were the team to draw the call and went down 5 on 4 and there you go, another OT loss while we have a man in the box.
The formula for us is simple. Do not allow the on ice officials to play a role in the game. End the game in regulation with a win or just stay out of the box by playing with more discipline. In Game 3 - which we lost in OT - we were shorthanded because we created a game delay penalty. Staying out of the box is crucial for us. Every game but one this series has been decided by one goal. We have lost two games in OT where our own D men have deflected shots into our own goal. We shouldn’t put ourselves into that position. We just need to put that all behind us and focus on more positive outcomes and on Monday night.
Notes:
I noticed several fisticuff related events in the stands last night. That is unacceptable and it doesn’t matter to me and us who provoked what. Safety and security are our primary deliverables in the arena and I am asking again for our fans to please show restraint and honor. I also want to note that opposing team fans must also show some restraint. Making an obscene gesture and taunting fans is not safe. All fans are responsible for their own safety and I am hopeful our fans will never act in this manner in another city. NHL playoff hockey is all about intensity and emotion. However there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed by any and all fans and I am simply making a plea for some decorum and better manners to help assure a quality experience for everyone.
I was very disappointed in some of our fans that threw bottles, pom-poms and coins onto the ice at the end of the game. We will enforce all measures against you if we find out who is responsible. Please behave. Our fans and our city and our players deserve it.
OK. We head out to Pittsburgh on Monday. We prepare today and tomorrow for the most important game of our season. Win or go home for us. Wish us luck. We hope to see everyone again on Wednesday night back in DC.
Tags: Hockey, NHL Playoffs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ted Leonsis, Ted's Take, Washington Capitals
Ted,
You’re incredibly wealthy thus you must be pretty smart so I figure you know the definition of “contradiction”, right?
Paragraph one you say “We can’t whine…” yet in paragraph 4 you do exactly that, you whine. That’s a contradiction. You’ve whined about the officiating on multiple occasions as well as the back-to-back games.
Please answer this, do you really think the referees and league officials sat down in a secret meeting and discussed how they could ensure the Pens won the series? Do you think Gary Bettman called Bill McCreary and Eric Furlatt just before Game 5 OT began to ensure they called a penalty against the Caps and not the Pens?? Are you insinuating there is a conspiracy against your team?
You are the leader of this team, please set a good example and don’t insinuate the NHL is full of cheaters, it only makes you look foolish.
The trash throwing was very humiliating to true Caps fans who want to represent the team in a dignified way. Most Caps fans were showing restraint when taunted by obnoxious Pens fans during and after the game. I know this would never happen but it would be better to not serve alcohol at these events. We are all there for the hockey game and that should be enough.
Caps will win tonight to face a game 7 at Verizon where we will close them out. Its a good test. I’m confident Ovie and the fellas will pull it out!!
geez! i didn’t realize pens fans were so nervous that they need to spend so much time reading ted’s blog. i’ve never visited the penguins website, never felt a need.
I’ll add that Crosby was out of line complaining about the delay. It’s an NHL tradition and there was nothing out of the ordinary on the fans’ part. I don’t know what a normal response involves, but the arena personnel are responsible for hustling the stuff off the ice asap. The delay doesn’t really favor either side, but in a game which only grants one timeout per side per contest, longer delays undermine the great fluidity of the game.
I think everyone needs to face a couple of facts here.
(1) I do not condone the fan behaviour at the end of the game. Out of certain Pens fans or Caps fans. But let’s realize one thing — a part of the reason this happens is because people are egged on to get caught up in the passion. Why? Because it’s part of the marketing plan, and part of the strategy to make the opponent feel as uncomfortable as possible. Statistics will tell you the problem with this — there will be an extreme 1% of the population who will get caught up in it to such an extent that they cross certain barriers that the other 99% see as inviolate. Again, as one of the 99% I don’t condone this. But I know it is very likely to happen. We should not be surprised. And maybe we ought to tone down the violence-oriented marketing just a bit. If you stoke up the passion of a large number of people, the small percentage at the extremes will cause difficulty.
(2) Whether expressed appropriately or inappropriately, the attitude of Caps fans at the end of the game was perfectly justifiable. Because frankly, the officiating toward the end of the game was unjustifiable. I have seen lots of fan comments and columnist comments during this series about the disparity of penalties, saying that the Penguins skaters are being more aggressive and skilled and causing more penalties to be taken. Let’s assume for the moment that this is the reason for the overall series disparity - and I think the explanation has some merit. The fact is, that the Caps began the overtime by taking it to the Pens, so by that explanation it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect that the Pens would need to take a penalty at some point. And they did. The trip on Semin, after a couple of other chances the Caps had around the net, was clear, blatant, and out in the open ice where it couldn’t possibly be missed. But nothing was called. And then, after the Pens had nothing going for the majority of their power play after the Malkin trip, one of the Caps defenders [Gordon] was clearly a victim of interference as the Pens started the last rush up ice. Again, clear, blatant, and out on open ice, and committed by the team that, given the power play situation, was playing less effectively at the moment. You can’t have it both ways, expecting penalties when you are playing effectively and expecting to have your penalties called when you are not. This is not whining. It is simply the reality of what took place at the end of Saturday’s game.
(3) The Penguins fans really have nothing to say about the Ovechkin/Gonchar encounter unless they have something equivalent or more to say about the Kunitz check to Varlamov’s throat. The Ovechkin move was a skating move done in an instant, in the heat and full context of play. There can’t be anything premeditated about a move when things are happening so fast, and it was a “sort of natural” body move when maybe the opponent moves in a little different way than you had planned for. A cross-check to the throat, while it happened in the context of play, is in no way a “sort of natural” move. It is seen and taught as a totally inappropriate way to use one’s stick. Let’s face up to these incidents for what they really are.
Teddy, I have my red hat and pots and pans in the ready position. I know The Caps are hungry and will pound the penguins with shots on goal! I feel VICTORY in my bones. It’s May 11, a good day. Rock the Red. Lets Go Caps!!!