1 Down, 2 To Go

I'm frustrated. What a great performance the Caps had on Friday night in a must-win Game 5. But I'm frustrated because I wonder where this type of effort was in the first 2 games of this series. I just don't get how this team does not seem to put it all on the line until they are one loss from elimination. They put themselves in a very tough situation where one small play could be the difference between moving on and the season ending. Just like last year, it was a couple of bad calls in a Game 7 and just like that, they were done. This year, the have given themselves no room for error, bad luck, or bad calls and have to win 2 more games to complete an impressive comeback. I think the Capitals are clearly the better team, but anyone who knows hockey knows sometimes the better team does not win, it's the better prepared team for playoff hockey. So far, the Rangers have been that better prepared team, but a game like Friday night proves that the Caps can be dominant. Okay, now we can recap one heck of an effort in Game 5. Matt Bradley, you are the man. What a sweet backhand he scored shorthanded to get the Caps going. Then, finally Henrik Lundqvist looked mortal giving up a horrendous goal to Bradley later in the first. After that, the skill guys took over. Alex Semin with a sick wrister off the faceoff that was picture perfect and of course, another amazing goal by Alex Ovechkin that will be on highlight reels for the next 24 hours. Least we forget another great game from the 20 year old sensation Simeon Varlamov, who became the first Cap since Olie the Goalie to record 2 shutouts in the same playoff series. I fear he'll have to get at least 3 in order for the Caps to advance, but I really believe that if they can somehow get Game 6, I think we will win Game 7. Game 6 is huge. The Rangers will be so much better than they were on Friday. They will likely have Sean Avery back in the lineup and he'll probably be more disciplined. Lundqvist will bounce back and be great. The Caps don't have to score first, but if they don't score first, they MUST score second. This Capitals team has some bigtime confidence that Lundqvist is human and they'll need some more secondary scoring like they got from Bradley to get the job done on Sunday. This is the biggest game of the careers of most of these players, that is until Tuesday, should they win. I think this one could go either way and I have no idea what to expect. I do know the Caps can't afford to be unlucky like they were in Game 4. I believe they can make this happen, but it will not be easy and it'll take a complete team effort much like in Game 3 in order for the Caps to again stay alive and set up another Game 7 at home. I just hope in future years, this team can learn from the past 2 seasons. If they started series with the focus and intensity they have shown the past 3 games, they will finally taste playoff success. The pieces are there. They may not be entirely ripe yet, but they are getting there. Now let's get Game 6 and come home.