The Capitals fell tonight in Boston by a score of 3-2 and their record losing streak is now at a sickening eight consecutive games. After a horrid first period that saw the Bruins blitz for three goals, the Capitals dominated the next two frames and outshot the B's 25-2 in the third, but were unable to equalize.
The Bruins came out fast in the first period and the Caps were simply no match for their size and speed and Patrice Bergeron put one behind Michal Neuvirth's legs with the game barely three minutes old...another soft goal for Neuvirth. The Bruins scored again five minutes later when Andrew Ference (ANDREW FERENCE!) scored on a curveball from the point that somehow managed to bend three feet right in front of Neuvirth. The B's blitzed the Caps for the rest of the frame as well, and Blake Wheeler potted another goal with the help of Neuvy again, who let another five hole goal through his legs. The second period was a different story, however. The Capitals came out with speed, clearly desperate to break the throws of their losing streak. They received a ray of hope when Matt Bradley did his job as an energizer and scored a sharp angle goal on Thomas after Bruin Tyler Seguin missed on a breakaway that gave the Capitals even more life. They were relentless in their forechecking pressure and got pucks to the net, but were continually denied by the heroics of Tim Thomas and some key whiffs from Marcus Johansson and Brooks Laich. In the third, the Caps dominated from the drop of the puck spending almost the entirety of the frame in the Boston zone, but Thomas was up to the task on the first nineteen shots he saw before Karl Alzner blasted a slapshot over his shoulder to bring the Caps within one. Despite tremendous pressure and opportunities, however, the Caps were unable to dent Thomas again and fell to their eighth consecutive loss.
Observations:
This is getting absurd. The Caps literally cannot get any more unlucky than they are right now. Alex Ovechkin hit another post (that makes six in the last three games for the team) and multiple Caps missed wide open nets and fanned on shots all night. It has to come...if it doesn't, they are obviously in big trouble.
Michal Neuvirth cost his team this game. As a goaltender, you have to have the ability to steal a game for your team, and he was simply unable to do it. Of the three goals that he let in, two were inexcusable, right through his five hole on the ice, and need to be stopped by an NHL goaltender, especially in the middle of one of the worst losing streaks in recent memory. If you take those goals out, guess what? The Caps would have won!
It does not get any easier for the Caps as they travel to Ottawa to take on a rested Senators team tomorrow night. The Caps are going to have to get up bigtime for that one, the night after such a crushing defeat. But they are running out of options. The time is now, or it may be never.
Game time tomorrow is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
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