NHL Playoffs Roundup: 'Nightmare' Neuvirth's Epic Game Eerily Familiar to Caps

Nobody dissecting this NHL playoff game from the statistics alone would believe the result. Even those watching live couldn’t comprehend what they were seeing.

In a game the Washington Capitals dominated in almost every area imaginable, the unthinkable happened. Despite being outshot, out-hit and out-performed in the faceoff circles, the Philadelphia Flyers won Game 5 in Washington 2-0 to narrow their deficit in the best-of-seven series to 3-2.

Aside from the scoreboard, the one other category the Flyers won handily was saves—44 of them by goaltender Michal Neuvirth. Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun quoted Caps head coach Barry Trotz on Neuvirth's performance:

Neuvirth has probably earned the nickname "Nightmare," at least when it comes to the Capitals' dreams of winning the Stanley Cup. After staking themselves to a 3-0 series lead, the Caps have gone from a potential sweep to what could be an epic collapse.

They’re the Presidents’ Trophy winners, amassing 120 points for the second time in franchise history in the regular season. They have one of the deepest and most talented groups of players. Their own goalie, Braden Holtby, is the front-runner for the Vezina Trophy.

Now they’re facing a red-hot goaltender who has stopped 75 of 76 shots over two starts after taking over for Steve Mason, and who has now beat the Caps in all three appearances against his former team. Broad Street Hockey quoted Neuvirth: 

And if it all seems a little too familiar a storyline, that’s because it is.

The Caps were up 3-1 in a first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens in 2010 when goaltender Jaroslav Halak stood on his head, helping the Habs win three straight to upset the regular-season points leader.

The eighth-seeded Canadiens watched Halak stop 131 of 134 shots over the final three games, including 41 of 42 in a Game 7 victory.

The Capitals had 121 points in the regular season that year and were expected to tear apart the Eastern Conference in the playoffs.

This series is heading back to Philadelphia for Game 6, and the longer the Capitals take to finish off their less talented opponent, the more they’ll be facing questions about their past playoff failures.

In another coincidence of sorts, the Philadelphia Flyers came back from a 3-0 series hole against the Boston Bruins in 2010.

Bad omen?

It’s starting to look that way. Said Trotz, per NHL.com's Tom Gulitti:

The Caps will try not to panic, but it’s tough when you fail in two attempts to knock out an opponent and instead drop your first two back-to-back losses in regulation all season.

They threw everything at Neuvirth on Friday and came away completely empty, with a couple of memorable saves against Jay Beagle and Marcus Johansson standing out as game-changers.

From every member of the Flyers not named Neuvirth, it might have been one of the worst playoff performances by any team.

The Flyers set a franchise record for lowest number of shots on goal with 11, and aside from an empty-netter, the only puck they put past Holtby—the guy who beat out Neuvirth as the starter in Washington two seasons ago to lead to the latter’s departure from the capital—was an own goal.

Ryan White got credit for it, but the centering attempt banked in off Capitals defenseman Taylor Chorney’s skate.

The only thing the Capitals could get past Neuvirth was winger Jason Chimera.

Two more chances to advance out of the first round and exorcise the ghosts await the Capitals. And Neuvirth can’t possibly keep this up, right?

Well...history suggests it’s possible.

Series-ending win proves it’s time to start believing in Sharks

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

That epic Los Angeles Kings comeback two springs ago has already been erased in the minds of the San Jose Sharks.

There was no collapse this time. The Sharks polished off the Kings in Game 5 on Friday night, eliminating the 2014 Stanley Cup champions with an exciting and convincing 6-3 victory at the Staples Center on a night that for a brief period in the third frame had some still believing in the magic of the Kings comeback.

The Sharks put together a comfy 3-0 lead early in the second period with goals from Joonas Donskoi, Chris Tierney and Matt Nieto, only to watch the Kings chip away at it. First Anze Kopitar had one bounce in off his pads, then Jeff Carter rifled one top shelf at about the halfway mark. Kris Versteeg scored his first of the playoffs at 16:36 to tie the game.

That set up a deciding third period.

The Sharks made a statement over the last 20 minutes, scoring three unanswered goals. Donskoi had his second of the game and series 3:58 in, and Sharks captain Joe Pavelski scored his fifth of the series at 12:24 to all but wrap it up.

Melker Karlsson added an empty-net goal.

Brent Burns finished with three assists and was all over the ice, outplaying Kings franchise defenseman Drew Doughty on the night and in the series. Pavelski left the game with a thumb injury but came back and made his presence felt with the insurance goal.

The Sharks captain will have time to rest whatever is ailing him as the Sharks await the winner of the Nashville Predators/Anaheim Ducks series, which is currently locked at 2-2.

Meanwhile, the team has become a legitimate contender in the eyes of many, including Sportsnet analyst Kelly Hrudey, the former Sharks goaltender.

Said Hrudey on the Sportsnet broadcast: "You’ve got to look at San Jose now as one of the favorites moving forward when you consider this was such a difficult series for them with the past and so on, and the way in which they won today’s game. Going up 3-0, and then blowing that lead, and having the wherewithal to still come back and get the victory."

The way the Sharks won the game, the way they won the series and they way they’ve quickly groomed so many young players like Donskoi, Karlsson and starting goaltender Martin Jones—Jonathan Quick’s former backup—into productive players offers a lot of hope for a franchise that hasn’t been to the conference finals since 2011 and is still seeking its first berth in the Stanley Cup final.

“We know it’s just a start. But it’s a good start,” said Burns on the telecast.

“We’ve had resiliency all year, just staying calm in the last few games, getting pretty close there—that’s a good team over there. We showed a lot of guts to get that win.”

Islanders take their turn in neck-and-neck series with 2OT victory

Alan Diaz/Associated Press

It was Game 7 for Alan Quine of the New York Islanders.

As in, the seventh NHL game he’s ever dressed for.

And yet there he was with an open net and a puck, dribbling his way for a sure overtime winner.

Whoops...he whiffed on that attempt. He made good on his next one, though, as the win-one, lose-one trend continued with the Isles beating the Florida Panthers 2-1 in double overtime thanks to Quine’s winner with four minutes left on the clock.

And while Twitter exploded with sincere questions about who the heck this Alan Quine kid is, the Isles are headed home with a 3-2 advantage in the series and a chance to close it out in Brooklyn.

Given the way this series has gone, that’s no sure thing. Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo looked tired as he tried to get across his crease to stop the winner, but the goaltending battle has been dead even, as has almost every other aspect of the series. The teams both have 13 goals to their credit through five contests, and there was no shortage of opportunity Friday even though regulation featured just a pair of goals.

There was even a penalty shot in the first overtime period, with Aleksander Barkov becoming the third NHLer ever to be awarded one in OT, following the path of the two before him and failing to score.

Some of you may still be wondering why one of the best scorers of the past two decades in the NHL was watching while Barkov made his attempt. Jaromir Jagr, who has 1,629 goals to his credit to sit third on the league’s all-time list, dislikes shootouts so much he didn’t participate in a single one this season. He was 0-2 with the Panthers last year.

Barkov, meanwhile, is usually majestic—scoring on five of six of his shootout attempts this season.

Perhaps as this series goes on, the older players, like Luongo and the 44-year-old Jagr, will find themselves more ineffective, and guys like Quine—a 23-year-old with fresh legs and youthful exuberance—will enjoy some more time in the spotlight.

Defense could spoil Stars' party as Wild win in OT to extend series

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Forget Tyler Seguin’s Achilles' heel injury. The Dallas Stars’ weakness is at the other end of the rink.

As explosive as their offense is—as evidenced by the two goals in 28 seconds that turned a third-period deficit into a lead—their defense and goaltending is just awful enough to spoil their chances at what otherwise could be a deep playoff run.

Mikko Koivu scored his second straight goal, 4:55 into overtime, to give the Minnesota Wild a 5-4 win in Game 5 and force a Game 6 back on home ice on Sunday.

Koivu also tied things up with about three minutes left in regulation, taking advantage of the Stars’ disorganized attempt at tracking a puck in the defensive zone.

Viewers who were channel flipping might have missed that one, understandably switching to the overtime game in Florida after Alex Goligoski gave the Stars a one-goal lead with half a period to play.

If the Stars can’t find a way to hang on to a lead, they may find themselves on the wrong side of this battle despite finishing as the Western Conference’s top seed in the regular season.

Goaltender Antti Niemi—who got the start in the past two games after Kari Lehtonen lost Game 3—may be relegated back to the bench after he posted a .792 save percentage in stopping just 19 of 24 shots he faced on Friday.

Not that Lehtonen can be expected to be better with any consistency. He was sharp in the first two games, stopping 60 of 61 shots against, but imploded while allowing four goals against in a 5-3 loss in Game 3 at the Xcel Energy Center. He stopped 20 of 24 in that one for an .833 save percentage.

Neither Stars goalie inspires much confidence. So unless that top NHL offense can score a half-dozen or more, you can’t count the Wild out.