The theme from last night: "Hey, we'll take the win."
From Japers' Rink: "There'll be nights like last night, where the Caps will hit the showers having snagged two points that they probably didn't deserve. Funny thing is, they all count the same at the end of the year, so take 'em, skate 'em and move on."
Says The Peerless: "But in the end, two points is two points..."
The Caps were up 4-2, but gave up 2 goals in the third, and needed Ovie's 19th goal of the season with 11 seconds left in OT to get the win. He took the puck in the slot on the backhand and wheeled around to his forehand before ripping a wrister past MacDonald for the win. His first goal wasn't as good, but that was only because the no-look behind-the-back pass from Semin gave him a wide open net to shoot at. And on the defensive end, Mike Green put a big hit on Ben Walter as he cut across the top of the Caps zone. Green isn't known as the heavy hitter on the Caps blueline, but as far as Walter's concerned he might as well be.
Tomorrow night the Blues come into town with the hopes of ending the Caps' 4-game win streak. And for the second straight game the Caps go up against a team just as injured as they are. As Tarik points out, St. Louis is missing their top goalie (Manny Legace), their top defenseman (Eric Brewer), top pick (Erik Johnson), and three of their top forwards (Paul Kariya, Andy McDonald, and T.J. Oshie).
For the Caps John Erskine and Chris Clark are still out, and Sergei Fedorov is out again. He didn't even step on the ice today. Brent Johnson didn't practice today, but he will be one of the two goalies dressing tomorrow night. Coach Boudreau hasn't decided if Varlamov or Theodore will be the other goalie. According to Corey Masisak, Theodore practiced with the team today, and Boudreau thought he "looked pretty good."
For now, the Caps will enjoy an off night to relax and recover.
