Washington Capitals confident against Tampa Bay Lightning in semi-finals – NHL playoffs
Washington Capitals are looking to repeat their superb performance against New York Rangers when they face Tampa Bay Lightning in game 1 of the National Hockey League playoff semi-finals in Washington on Friday.
It has been nearly a week since the Capitals returned home after eliminating New York Rangers in game five. All that rest has looked to have taken a toll on their patience as their excitement continues to build for the next round of the Eastern Conference
playoffs. After a surprisingly quick victory in round one, Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau expressed his astonishment and was concerned about who their new opponent will be.
All that anticipation was bound to build up as Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins were in a duel to the finish. The Lightning showed they could recover if they put their mind into it and they certainly did it after they won three consecutive games
to take the series.
The Capitals have not had it so easy since 1998 and after that, they have not controlled any series in less than seven games. The loss they faced in less than seven games was against Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003.
“It couldn't have gone too much better than the way it did,” defenseman Karl Alzner taking about their 4-1 series victory against New York said. “We said to ourselves we wanted to try and win a series, if we can, in four or five and get as much rest as possible
-- because you definitely feel the effects through a seven-game series.”
Both teams have a top player that they will be depending on to lead them to victory in the series. Alex Ovechkin for the Capitals and the Lightning’s Steven Stamkos are expected to show their divine performances along with their highly talented goalies.
Michal Neuvirth played every single minute for the Capitals and allowed only eight goals in five games while Tampa Bay’s veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson was superb in the final matches against Pittsburgh.
The Lightning coach Guy Boucher has serious reservations on his team’s performance against the Capitals, which certainly puts NHL fans in doubt over his expectations.
“We're not kidding ourselves right here,” he said. “We think we're playing the best team in our conference. It's the team that's No. 1. It's the team that's supposed to win everything in our conference. It's the fifth year of their plan. They have to win,
we know that. They have to win, or else it's a failure.”
It was a moment that shocked Tampa Bay fans when Boucher announced his complete unwillingness to believe that they could ever win against Washington. Instead of building confidence and boosting their egos, Boucher has trampled on everything his 2004 Stanley
Cup winning team has worked for this past season.
Both teams have played six times in regulation season, of which Washington won four. Nevertheless, playing during playoffs is a whole new scenario. The Lightning might put up a bigger fight than expected but Washington are well positioned as well.
They face off against each other on Friday 7:00 PM ET in Washington DC for the first match in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
It will certainly be an exciting game, which will have fans making predictions of the outcome for the remainder of the series.
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