#32 Posted: 5/11/2012 5:22:16 PM QUOTE Originally Posted by sirrobinhood:
caps been fortunate thus far. every game they have been oyt shot and the territorial play has belonged to rags. if not for pp goals games dont score even strength. rags play with a purpose saturday and light up the kid goalie 4-1.
[Quote: Originally Posted by sirrobinhood] even for sure, no doubt. just saying for the dude who said the caps should have won already is nonesense. if caps held on to win game 5 the rangers would have won game 6 they way this series has gone. all teams left in playoffs are on a equal plane. no geat teams anybody can win. and for those who think the kings are going to walk thru the coyotes watch out. this will be a tough series. kings in 6 or 7.
The Caps have been unfortunate, if anything this series. Game 1, the Rangers were definitely the better team, but since then, the Caps have been better more often than not. Shots on goal is not the measuring stick for who's played the better series, as Caps fans have learned to often in their recent history of playoff letdowns.
Game 3 in 3OT was an extremely fortunate win for the Rags. Washington hit about 6-8 posts that game alone and had far more opportunities to win that game than New York until Gaborik ended it. Yet, the Caps showed their resiliency and came back. Game 5 was the worst game the Caps played all playoffs, yet they still had a lead with 7 seconds left. The Rangers stole that one and are lucky to still be alive in this series after that.
Finally, one thing people seem to forget is that this same core group of Caps players have already beaten Lunqvuist and the Rangers twice in the last 4 years in the postseason. The Rangers have gotten better with Richards, but the Caps have become a much better, tougher postseason team (with a much better goalie) since then, and yet everyone acts as if Washington is the great big underdog. I just don't see it. Washington has a better roster top to bottom in my opinion, and as long as Holtby is playing on par with Lunqvuist, I have to give the Caps the edge.
Tomorrow comes down to a coin flip in my mind. It will be one bounce or break one way or another. However, I'd take the Caps if I were to bet on it, for value, as well as because of both teams' mindsets heading in. The Caps are playing without the pressure they usually feel, and it's all on New York this time. I think Washington finds a way to get it done and will be the east's Stanley Cup Finals representative when it's all said and done. |