Home ice advantage is coveted in the playoffs for a reason. The electricity of the crowd adds to the emotion behind the game. The playoffs are a gauntlet, testing the meddle of any team, and the further into the test a team is, the more challenging it becomes. Seizing on the home crowd energy can add a boost to a home squad, and can likewise stifle a visiting team.
Enter the Washington Capitals, who managed to win both games 1 and 2 on home ice, and take a huge 2-0 series lead on the road for two games in Montreal.
If you think that grabbing both wins in D.C. was not critical to winning the series, I believe you’d be mistaken for reasons laid out above.
Montreal is an electric atmosphere even during the regular season, but the Bell Centre will be mayhem come Friday that Washington will have to navigate through. Of course, it will be much easier with a 2-0 series lead, with the Habs essentially needing to win both games at home to save the season.
There is a lot of credit due to Washington for taking away a 2-0 lead from D.C. Montreal was hot down the final stretch of the regular season, and the Capitals came out with a blitz in both games that has thrown the Canadiens off their game.
You can see a certain level of hesitancy with the puck or making plays in their game, due to Washington’s 200-foot style and overwhelming physicality.
There is some concern to be had however with the Capitals’ ability to play a complete 60-minute effort (we’ll get to that) as well as allowing Montreal to hang around in the game in the first place and sneak back in in the third.
Let’s have a deeper look at these first two matches and what Washington needs to do to finish off the Canadiens.
Stick taps for the goalies
And I mean that for both goalies. Before getting to Logan Thompson, credit to Sam Montembeault for turning his season around and really showing up to play in this series. He has made some truly excellent saves, his positioning has looked good and he has done his part to keep his team in the game in holding off a Capitals team that doesn’t seem to let up for long stretches, which helps the Habs stay in it until the end. There were points in both games where he was seemingly on the end of a shooting gallery.
Not to be outdone, though, Thompson has returned with a new life. After missing the last stretch of the regular season with injury, he drew back in for game 1 and immediately went into beast mode.
None of the three goals he’s given up are any to really hold against him, because he’s been sharp. Wednesday’s showing was also quite the display of his goaltending prowess, as he stood on his head to keep Montreal from tying the game back up, especially in the third.
Capitals keep pressing
Speaking of Montembeault being at the receiving end of a shooting gallery, the Capitals came out on fire in the beginning of both games.
Between the barrage of hitting and the shots being taken at Montembeault, Washington’s offense did a great job of keeping the offensive momentum going through most of each game. Montreal’s defense is arguably on the weaker side (or at least more inexperienced), and the Capitals have done good work in getting the puck around and through them in order to generate quality chances.
But all of this leads to a reoccurring issue…
Capitals need to keep their foot on the gas for the whole 60 minutes
It’s been an issue that’s plagued Washington all season: the team needs to string together a full 60-minute effort. There were numerous games down the stretch that saw the Capitals allow a team to hang around or come back, costing them points. Of course, it wasn’t as concerning then with the games being less high-stakes; it just had to be ironed out come playoff time.
Well, now it’s playoff time. And they still need to iron this out.
Montreal made it into the playoffs on the ability to claw back in games. Had it not been for Thompson in this series, both games could have easily gone the other way and we’d be talking about this from an entirely different perspective.
Credit to the Capitals for their ability to come away with the wins. And in the playoffs, wins are what matter more than anything. But they should also not have a Corsi-for of only 46 percent through both games.
Both games started off with much better momentum before the Capitals turn in a third period effort that is sub-35 percent Corsi-for in both games.
Game 2 was the most noticeable, and somehow, Thompson kept the Habs from tying the game up and forcing OT again.
Eyes to the north
We’ll all gladly take a 2-0 series lead on the road, but Montreal will be no easy place to play.
Considering that it’s been four years since the Bell Centre last saw playoff hockey, expect that crowd to be roaring and for the Canadiens squad to feed off that energy.
Maybe I’m making a mountain out of a molehill, but I think that the Capitals are capable of better. This is a team that has brought us some truly great moments this season (the big one with Alex Ovechkin notwithstanding), and there is some special talent on this team. That said, the third periods are an easy problem to fix.
While Washington can manage against the Canadiens, these mistakes may be more costly later against higher-seeded (and arguably opponents like the Carolina Hurricanes.
But again, wins are wins, and the Capitals are two closer to the ultimate goal. There’s no good reason why they cannot put Habs on ice quickly. But letting them back into this series could cost them dearly.