2012 NHL Playoffs: Can Capitals Come Back from Tough 3OT Loss?

It took 114 minutes and 41 seconds to decide the game, but the New York Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 in Wednesday’s Game 3. With that triple-overtime win, the Rangers took a 2-1 lead in the series.

Can the Caps come back from this tough loss?

In their first-round series with the Boston Bruins, four of the seven games spilled over into overtime. The Caps won two of those four. Of the two that they lost, the Caps were able to come back and win that following game.

Marian Gaborik’s three-OT game-winning goal was only his second of the playoffs. Gaborik led the Rangers with 41 goals in the regular season. He is one of four Rangers who tallied over 50 points in the regular season, compared to the Caps’ two.

That said, the Caps need to continue to play solid defense to keep the Rangers’ scorers from finding twine. They blocked 40 shots in Game 3. Roman Hamrlik and Mike Green, along with John Carlson and Karl Alzner, have proved to be strong defensive pairings.

Along with keeping up their defensive trends, the Caps have to really lock in the fundamental aspects of their game. In this marathon that was Game 3, the Caps gave the puck away an astounding 27 times and only managed 12 takeaways.

In addition, they have to play with more discipline to avoid giving the Rangers power play opportunities. Captain Ryan Callahan capitalized on Brooks Laich’s hooking penalty by scoring the first goal of the game.

For the most part, the Caps played a good defensive game. They also did a great job testing Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist by sending 46 shots his way. The Caps are not a team easily discouraged and should never be counted out. I firmly believe they are more than capable of coming back from this loss.