Washington Capitals a win away to turnaround as they face Boston Bruins – NHL News
With the loss of first playoff game to the Boston Bruins, the Washington Capitals have landed themselves in a must-win situation in the Game 2 of Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Saturday, April 14, 2012.
Capitals will be in Boston for another game against Bruins on the weekend and some of the game analysts believe that they will be almost done with their current season run if they do not win the next game.
Even their rookie goaltender, Braden Holtby, has backed the team for a victory in the next game.
Holtby apparently has impressed the game commentators, who noted him to be better than their expectations in the first of year of his professional career.
Jeremy Roenick, a game analyst at the NBC, said of Holtby:
"He was better than any one of us expected him to be."
Roenick also noted ruining of clear opportunities by Capitals in the last game. He said that the game was very much open in front of Capitals but they failed to capitalise on a number of clear chances.
The loss of the game with very little margin of 0-1 itself speaks of those failed chances, which could have helped Capitals earn the valuable win.
Roenick said:
"They really did blow an opportunity. You can't be a No. 7 seed going into the defending Stanley Cup champions' arena, have it be 0-0 into overtime, and not come out and win the game. I think they let a big one slip through their fingers.”
He added:
“Now they have to play from behind and the Bruins have a lot of playoff savvy. I give Washington credit for the way they played, but they had to find a way to win that hockey game."
He said that the Washington Capitals will be left with hardly any chance for future success if they are unable to pull themselves together in the next game.
Some other commentators believe that the team was not far behind pulling themselves back on winning ways.
The fact is that in spite of their loss, it was a tightly finished game, they said. A couple of hits finding the net could have made the difference in their favour.
So, they added, that in spite of the must-win situation, there is no need for Capitals to press the panic button, as one win will make the difference and that win remains to be crucial to their future.
No doubt, Bruins will be coming into the game with an upper edge but it also can prove to their disadvantage. They will be wary of the fact that Capitals can stage a turnaround and they are well capable of it.
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