Semin's Overtime Goal Leads Caps to Game One Win

It took nearly 80 minutes of hockey, but the Washington Capitals didn’t mind as they defeated the New York Rangers 2-1 in overtime to take game one of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. Alexander Semin scored 18:24 into the overtime period to win it for the home team and Michal Neuvirth made 24 saves in his NHL playoff debut.

“I wouldn’t say we proved anything. Our game needed to change to start the season and the game we played tonight was what we were preparing for all year. It just paid off,” said Capitals defenseman Mike Green after the game.

Green was playing in his first game since Feb. 25 when he was hit up high against the very same New York Rangers. He didn’t look to have missed a step, logging over 26 minutes of ice time and picking up an assist.

“I thought his first period might have been as good as he has played in a playoff game,” said Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau when asked about Green’s performance. “I thought it was outstanding for a guy who hasn’t played in six weeks to come back in a game like that.”

After a first round upset at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in the postseason last year, the Capitals have actively been changing their style from a run-and-gun, high-scoring offense to a more relaxed defensive style that emphasizes blocking shots and limiting scoring chances.

Tonight was the perfect example as the Capitals recorded 32 blocked shots, including a team high eight from Karl Alzner, which is the highest for a Capital this season.

The blocks were needed as the game was scoreless through two periods. It wasn’t for a lack of trying as both teams racked up numerous quality scoring chances. For the Caps, Semin and Jason Arnott had shots ring off the crossbar behind New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Alex Ovechkin missed an open net when he fired his own rebound into Lundqvist’s pads. Nicklas Backstrom beat Lundqvist five-hole only to see his leg kick the puck out from under him.

On the other end, Erik Christensen had an early slap shot that was quickly turned aside by Michal Neuvirth to set the pace. Marian Gaborik found himself alone in front of the net with the puck, but was unable to flip it over Neuvirth.

The Rangers were the first to breakthrough early in the third period. Brandon Prust beat out Washington defenseman John Erskine to a puck around the boards to start the play. He fed it to Wojtek Wolski who threw it out to the young defender Matt Gilroy who fired it past Neuvirth to take the lead. It was his first NHL playoff goal in his first playoff game.

After that goal, it looked as if the Rangers were going to lock down the game and pull out a 1-0 win until Washington’s captain turned it around. Green laid out a long pass out of the defensive zone to start the rush. Ovechkin deked with the puck and lost it, but Alexander Semin was right there to pick it up. Semin fired it at Lundqvist and Ovechkin started batting at the rebound. He didn’t see the puck go in, it was only when he saw Semin celebrating that Ovechkin realized he had scored.

“I saw Sasha [Semin] was like screaming ‘goal, goal’ so I was excited and start celebrating,” said Ovechkin after the game.

The play was reviewed as the net came off its moorings during the play, but it held up as a good goal.

In overtime, New York got two quick early chances, but after that it was nearly all Washington. It was near the end of the first overtime when Semin made up for his disappointing production in the playoffs as of late.

New York’s Marc Staal failed on a clearing attempt when Arnott grabbed the pick out of midair and threw it to Semin between the dots. Semin didn’t hesitate and slapped it past Lundqvist. It was his first playoff goal in 14 games. His last came in game seven against the New York Rangers in 2009.

He likes to play New York in the post-season it seems. He has six goals and four assists in eight career playoff games vs. the Rangers.

Ovechkin summed up the play and how important it was for not only Semin, but the whole team after the game.

“It’s a huge goal for [the] whole team,” he said. “We are all happy for Sasha because last year he was a little bit upset he didn’t score a goal…Right now it’s very important for him to score a goal, step up and show his leadership. Again, it doesn’t matter who scores right now, it’s all about winning and character and you see how good this group is right now.”

Game two of the series is Friday night at Verizon Center.

Additional Notes

-       Ovechkin now has 21 career playoff goals in just 29 games. He is tied with Dino Ciccarelli for third all time in franchise history. Ciccarelli was also the last Capital to score in overtime against the Rangers.

-       Michal Neuvirth made his NHL playoff debut. He has never lost a playoff series in North America, leading the Hershey Bears to back-to-back Calder Cup championships in the AHL in the past two seasons.