D.C.’s playoff disappointment continues
Lack of late discipline dooms Capitals in opener
BLUE JACKETS 4, CAPITALS 3, OTWASHINGTON, D.C. — Artemi Panarin did a victory lap around the Washington Capitals’ zone, raising his arms as he skated in a circle and players in red jerseys dropped their heads and moved out of his way. He was this game’s playoff hero, the latest image of Washington postseason disappointment.
The Capitals squandered a two-goal first-period lead and then another one-goal lead in the final five minutes of regulation before falling to the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime, 4-3, in the first game of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. The blame is easy to place: three penalties in the third period that led to two power-play goals.
“You’ve got a lead there, you’ve got to be smart,” Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer said. “Don’t make it hard on yourself basically. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit.”
The Capitals took a 3-2 lead 5:12 into the third period when forwards Devante Smith- Pelly and Jakub Vrana streaked into the offensive zone, Vrana speeding and spinning around Columbus players before stopping at the goal line to send a perfect pass across the crease to Smith-Pelly. He smacked the puck past goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, and chants of “D-S-P” followed. Washington, it seemed, had found its new playoff hero.
But the Capitals’ lack of discipline spoiled that story line. Washington was clinging to a 2-1 lead at the start of the third period when forward Tom Wilson hit center Alexander Wennberg in the corner. Wennberg crumpled to the ice, and Wilson went to the box for charging. Columbus’s power play was the seventh worst in the league during the regular season, but with Thomas Vanek left alone in front of the crease, he beat Grubauer just 13 seconds into the manadvantage.
Wennberg, meanwhile, suffered an “upper-body” injury on Wilson’s hit and did not “I’m just trying to finish my check there,” ilson said. “I’m obviously not trying to ake a penalty. That cost us the game. That’s critical moment. I’ve got to be better and aybe pass up on that hit. We’ve got the lead here, so maybe a big hit’s not needed.”
After Smith-Pelly lifted the Capitals to a ead, Washington was called for two more enalties. Forward Andre Burakovsky’s ripping infraction with less than five inutes left in the game was the costly one, s Seth Jones tied the game to force vertime.
Grubauer, in just the second playoff start f his career, allowed three goals on 25 shots n regulation, and 12 of the shots he faced ad been on the power play. He beat out raden Holtby, a Vezina Trophy winner, for the top job, but the two had split time in net for the last month in the regular season.
Coach Barry Trotz said Grubauer’s play was “fine,” and he didn’t commit to sticking with him for Sunday’s Game 2.
“Right now, I’m going to re-evaluate that,” Trotz said. “Philipp’s body of work has been good. . . . We’ll sit down and re-evaluate all the goals, evaluate our team and where we’re at and go from there.”
Before the Capitals unraveled with costly penalties, it had been a Blue Jackets infraction that had cost Columbus dearly in the first period. The Blue Jackets were one of the league’s most disciplined teams during the regular season, called for the second-fewest minor penalties. But the game turned on a boarding major assessed to Columbus’s Josh Anderson, who hit Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny into the glass with 2:37 left in the first period.
Kempny was down on the ice in apparent distress, eventually skating off with the team trainer, who held a towel to Kempny’s face.
He didn’t return, and his status going forward is unclear, a potential blow to a blueline that had been stabilized by his arrival just before the late February trade deadline. isabelle.khurshudan@washpost.com twitter.com/ikurshudyan Game 2 BLUE JACKETS@CAPITALS Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
TV: NBCSWA, NBCSN
The Capitals squandered a two-goal first-period lead and then another one-goal lead in the final five minutes of regulation before falling to the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime, 4-3, in the first game of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. The blame is easy to place: three penalties in the third period that led to two power-play goals.
“You’ve got a lead there, you’ve got to be smart,” Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer said. “Don’t make it hard on yourself basically. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit.”
The Capitals took a 3-2 lead 5:12 into the third period when forwards Devante Smith- Pelly and Jakub Vrana streaked into the offensive zone, Vrana speeding and spinning around Columbus players before stopping at the goal line to send a perfect pass across the crease to Smith-Pelly. He smacked the puck past goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, and chants of “D-S-P” followed. Washington, it seemed, had found its new playoff hero.
But the Capitals’ lack of discipline spoiled that story line. Washington was clinging to a 2-1 lead at the start of the third period when forward Tom Wilson hit center Alexander Wennberg in the corner. Wennberg crumpled to the ice, and Wilson went to the box for charging. Columbus’s power play was the seventh worst in the league during the regular season, but with Thomas Vanek left alone in front of the crease, he beat Grubauer just 13 seconds into the manadvantage.
Wennberg, meanwhile, suffered an “upper-body” injury on Wilson’s hit and did not “I’m just trying to finish my check there,” ilson said. “I’m obviously not trying to ake a penalty. That cost us the game. That’s critical moment. I’ve got to be better and aybe pass up on that hit. We’ve got the lead here, so maybe a big hit’s not needed.”
After Smith-Pelly lifted the Capitals to a ead, Washington was called for two more enalties. Forward Andre Burakovsky’s ripping infraction with less than five inutes left in the game was the costly one, s Seth Jones tied the game to force vertime.
Grubauer, in just the second playoff start f his career, allowed three goals on 25 shots n regulation, and 12 of the shots he faced ad been on the power play. He beat out raden Holtby, a Vezina Trophy winner, for the top job, but the two had split time in net for the last month in the regular season.
Coach Barry Trotz said Grubauer’s play was “fine,” and he didn’t commit to sticking with him for Sunday’s Game 2.
“Right now, I’m going to re-evaluate that,” Trotz said. “Philipp’s body of work has been good. . . . We’ll sit down and re-evaluate all the goals, evaluate our team and where we’re at and go from there.”
Before the Capitals unraveled with costly penalties, it had been a Blue Jackets infraction that had cost Columbus dearly in the first period. The Blue Jackets were one of the league’s most disciplined teams during the regular season, called for the second-fewest minor penalties. But the game turned on a boarding major assessed to Columbus’s Josh Anderson, who hit Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny into the glass with 2:37 left in the first period.
Kempny was down on the ice in apparent distress, eventually skating off with the team trainer, who held a towel to Kempny’s face.
He didn’t return, and his status going forward is unclear, a potential blow to a blueline that had been stabilized by his arrival just before the late February trade deadline. isabelle.khurshudan@washpost.com twitter.com/ikurshudyan Game 2 BLUE JACKETS@CAPITALS Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
TV: NBCSWA, NBCSN
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