It looked for a few minutes like it was all coming together, down a goal against a talented Columbus team with a goaltender who has owned them, and the Great8 sidelined with an injury, the team grinders appeared ready to step up and exert some leadership.
Spurred on by a great penalty killing sequence by Mike Knuble and dirty goals around the net by Laich (2) and Laing the Caps were poised to close out a third period rally, overcome some fluky goals, and reverse their ongoing trend of late collapses.
One stupid penalty is all it took. If by 'stupid' one means 'horrific'.
On his way to the bench after applying some fore-checking pressure Knuble couldn't resist one last swipe of the stick at the puck carrier passing by at center ice. With 3:30 left. With a one goal lead. This is the way the game used to be played - especially in Philly - and Knuble is a veteran who played most of his career under the pre-lockout 'no harm no foul' rules. So I guess he just couldn't help himself. But in today's NHL an open ice slash to the hands of a puck carrier is an easy call to make - especially when the stick catches the player on the unprotected wrist causing him to double over in pain.
You just gotta wonder what he was thinking. We see too many of these penalties from the Caps. Penalties they would never take (one hopes) if they would just ask themselves "What is this action going to accomplish?"
It went quickly downhill from there, the Caps couldn't kill the penalty and the overtime was a joke with goals stuffed in from the doorstep.
The local blogosphere is full of people content to look at the Caps record and the standings and ask "why worry?". Well now there's something to worry about. This is an angry and frustrated team with a proven inability to play 60 minutes and close games. Let's see if they can rally to fill the missing void of Alex Ovechkin (as they did in this game) and turn the corner. Without OV in the lineup 'good enough' is not likely to it done.
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