Washington Capitals Control Their Own Destiny, Green Playing in Season Final

The Washington Capitals must love playing hockey this late in the season. For the fourth straight game, the Capitals needed more than regulation to decide their game.

Thankfully, this one ended with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Caps clinched their fourth consecutive Southeast Division title in the process while also eliminating the Leafs from playoff contention.

The Capitals are now in sole possession of the No. 1 overall seed in the NHL's Eastern Conference. The Flyers were dealt a 5-2 loss in Ottawa, thus giving Washington a two-point lead. Both the Flyers and Caps have just two games remaining.  

Washington dominated the game and only Leafs rookie goalie, James Reimer prevented a blowout on home ice. The Caps came one shot short of doubling up Toronto in the shot column. The Caps could muster just nine shots in the opening frame but piled on 31 more in the last two periods.

Washington added one in the extra session, outshooting the Leafs 41-21 in the contest.

Michael Neuvirth looks to be the man that Bruce Boudreau may turn to once the playoffs begin. Neuvirth gained the start against a hot Leafs team that came into last night's game winners in seven of their last 10 games.

Neuvirth was good, but good is all that was necessary with just 21 shots faced. The Caps injury-riddled defense played a solid game against a Toronto offense that Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau called one of the best in the Eastern Conference.

Neuvirth has now started six of the Caps' last nine games and is currently riding a career-best, five-game winning streak. He is 9-1 with a 2.26 GAA and .923 save pct. in his last 11 starts.

Speaking to the media following the game last evening Neuvirth said, “That was a tough game. I wasn’t facing a lot of shots. I got a little unlucky on the first goal. I felt pretty good. I stayed with it. I was trying to stay focused the whole time. I think it’s a big two points for us.” (Washingtoncapitals.com)

Career milestones continue to accumulate for various players this season. Back in March, four Capitals players reached career milestones in a win over the Edmonton Oilers. Recently, Jason Arnott added another milestone with his 400th career goal.

After recording career point No. 600 in the game against the Oilers back in March, Alex Ovechkin tied last night's game with his 300th career goal.

Ovechkin's goal came on a brief two-man advantage for Washington and was his 31st of the season. The wicked slap shot had to be over 100 mph and more than likely would have killed (OK, maybe not killed but it was moving) the rookie netminder from Toronto had it hit him up high.

The power play tally was just the 10th time this season the Caps have scored with the extra man in consecutive games. Washington scored twice on the power play in their OT win against the Sabres on Saturday.

The Leafs took a 2-1 lead after Jeffrey Lupul scored just 1:35 into the middle frame but Washington was able to tie the game when the grinders worked to score, sort of.

Caps defenseman John Erskine took a shot from the point that went wide of the net, but not Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn.

In what can only be described as a microcosm of the Leafs season, the puck bounced off Schenn’s glove and into the net. The Leafs season ended right there as they were unable to score another goal against the Caps trap defense the rest of the way.

In overtime, each team recorded just one shot before heading to the shootout. Nicklas Backstrom, Matt Hendricks and Alex Ovechkin all missed for the Capitals.

Mikhail Grabovski, Nazem Kadri and Nikolai Kulemin all missed high and gloves side on Neuvirth. Mike Knuble, who has been Washington’s hottest offensive player in the last three games, ended the skills competition with a wrist shot past Reimer, giving Washington the win.

The Caps did not have much time to celebrate, as they must prepare to play the Florida Panthers in DC tonight. Washington and Florida are playing a season-ending home-and-home set which concludes Saturday in South Florida.

Washington controls their own destiny, but it will not be easy. The Panthers play the Capitals tough. The Panthers have won just once in their last 10 games but they have split the previous four games with Washington this season.

The Caps are getting a big boost when Mike Green returns to play on Saturday. This morning Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau stated that Green will be, "good to go" for Saturday's regular-season finale in Florida.

Green himself told reporters, "I feel really good. "Back to 100 percent [and] ready to go." (CSN.com)

"It will be nice to just get back in a game and get a feel for things," Green said. "It's different obviously than practicing, but I'm in shape, ready to go and expecting to play." (CSN.com)

If the Caps can win both of these games then they will earn their second straight Eastern Conference regular season title.

No big deal right? Wrong, it is a big deal considering where the Caps came from this year regardless if they win the conference. Last season the Caps proved that you could score, score, and score again but Boudreau and Ovechkin learned the hard way that scoring alone does not win Stanley Cups.

So Boudreau tore it all down and rebuilt it back it up again, this time he did it with defense. He rolled the dice and if the Caps win the East with the same players playing a very different style then in just one year, then Boudreau should finish a very close second to Pittsburgh’s Dan Bylsma as coach of the year.

Ask yourselves this Caps fans. Where do you think any other team would have finished this season scoring 91 less goals than last season? The Caps have proven that they can play anyway you need them to, and it is time to give them their due.

Nicklas Backstrom said in an interview last week on Comcast Sports Net that the Caps take more pleasure in shutting teams down than scoring on them. Considering the source fans, that is a big statement.

They say things happen for reason and if the Caps can advance deep into the playoffs this season then we know why they became the first No. 1 seed to blow a 3-to-1 series lead and lose to an eighth seed in the playoffs.

If they fail to advance deep into the postseason, then chances are a new system will not be needed to fix the problem. The Caps have issues in goal and their power play is not playoff caliber but every team has issues.

The playoffs are all about which team hides those deficiencies the best. Teams that win the Stanley Cup usually played great defense, scored timely goals, played good special teams and rode a hot a goalie on their way to winning 16 extra games.

Before the postseason began last year, Washington was not capable of playing great defense, they simply could not buy a hot goalie and their special teams disappeared.

This season their defense has a chance to finish as the best in franchise history, they have three possible hot goalies to choose from and we know they will kill penalties. That is already three more advantages over what we knew for sure last year at this time.

Your guess is as good as mine is as to what this all means but this much I know. The Washington Capitals have come a long way around to get back to the top this season and I have never heard anyone say, “Offense wins championships.”