Shortened Series Starts Saturday
Both the Caps and Jackets won their first two road games of their best of seven series; now it's a best-of-three set with Game 5 in D.C. on Saturday
The next game a home team wins in this best-of-seven series will be the first one.
The Caps started their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Columbus Blue Jackets with home ice advantage by virtue of a third straight Metropolitan Division title. But the Caps put themselves in a precarious position early in the series, losing the first two games - both at home - in overtime.
Heading to Columbus in a two-game hole in the series, the Caps managed to claim two victories in Ohio and they've brought the series back to the District all even at 2-2. Washington now hosts the Blue Jackets in a critical Game 5 on Saturday afternoon in the District. One of these two teams will lead this series by the end of the day, and the other will be left with no margin for error.
After each of the first three games of the series went to overtime, the Caps earned a 4-1 win over the Jackets in Thursday's Game 4 to square the series.
"I felt like maybe be the first two games," says Caps center Nicklas Backstrom, obviously they won two in overtime - but we had a two-goal lead in both games and I thought we played maybe better than the results. It is what it is; it's hockey. I felt like we deserved better after two, but at the same time maybe [the Jackets] played better in Game 3. That's the way hockey is. Now the series is tied so we'll see what happens."
Columbus may have played its best game of the series in Game 3, and the Caps almost certainly played their best game in Game 4. Washington scored the game's first goal for the fourth time in as many games in the series, and for the first time in the series there were no lead changes in Game 4.
"We played a good road game for sure," says Washington right wing Tom Wilson, who scored the game's first goal in each of the two games in Columbus. "We had leads in the first couple of games and it got away from us a little bit, but tonight we played a solid game. Besides their one goal, they didn't really have much. That's important playing on the road in the playoffs, and playing a team that has a lot of energy in their building."
Columbus obviously knows it is capable of winning in Washington, and the Capitals have to realize that they've merely tied the series here, and they have done nothing worth celebrating.
"All along, we had trust in our group," says Caps coach Barry Trotz. "We felt we should have at least gotten a split here [in Washington]. We knew that we had some areas of our game that we could tweak, make better, improve, and we've gone about that as a group. And obviously when you start having success, you start to feel better about yourself. But at the same time, the reality of it is it is a best of three. So the intensity is going to get ramped up on both sides - it should."
After managing just four five-on-five goals in the first three games of the series, the Caps got two goals at five-on-five from their top line on Thursday. The Capitals were also effective at neutralizing the top Columbus trio of Artemi Panarin, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cam Atkinson. That trio was responsible for both of the Jackets' goals in Game 3, but they combined for six shots on net and a dozen shot attempts but no production in Game 4.
Boone Jenner scored the only Columbus goal in Game 4, tipping a shot past Holtby at 6:22 of the third. The Caps kept the heat on the Jackets offensively the rest of the way, and some of Washington's best puck management came after Jenner's goal.
"Definitely, especially after we gave up that goal in the third," says Caps goalie Braden Holtby, who evened his career playoff record at 31-31. "I think that all started from T.J. Oshie. I think he took the game over on a couple of those shifts just hounding the puck and killing those minutes. Those are the things he does that he doesn't get enough credit for to create wins, and that's the kind of leader he is.
"Everyone else followed after that. Even throughout the game, I think this game was probably our best for traffic and net presence, and that's something we're going to have to continue to do to have success on a goalie as good as [Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky]. We're pushing the right way, and now we've got to regroup and focus on Game 5."
Trotz announced on Friday that Caps winger Andre Burakovsky, who left early in Game 2 with an upper body injury, will require minor surgery and will not be available to the Caps for the remainder of the series.
The Jackets could get a boost on Saturday if Alexander Wennberg is able to play. Wennberg scored his first career playoff goal in Game 1, but left that contest in the third period after taking a hit from Wilson early in the third period. His potential return could give the Jackets' attack a much-needed lift.
Columbus has scored only three goals in the last 149 minutes of the series, and Wennberg - the Jackets' second-line center - was sixth on the team with 27 assists and eighth in scoring with 35 points during the regular season. If he is able to return to action for Saturday's Game 5, the rest of the Jackets' forward group should fall into a more favorable lineup slot.
Regardless of which players are dressed for Sunday's game, both teams will be looking to get the upper hand in the series, which should make for a great game. The Caps won two straight on the road to tie the series, but they've lost five of their last six playoff games at Capital One Arena.
"I think the home environment can sometimes get you a little comfortable, so I think it also can get your focus off, too, a little bit," says Trotz. "So we've got to stay real focused here in the right areas and we've got to continue that. All we've done to this point is got even. We haven't won a home game yet. We need to win a home game and get this series on our side of the ledger for a little bit here."
