Buzzer beater Caps off dramatic Game 1
NEW YORK — They knew he was dangerous. The day before, when Alex Ovechkin was announced as a Hart Trophy finalist, the New York Rangers spent the majority of practice game-planning how they were going to stop the NHL’s top goal-scorer from finding the back of the net.
Get in his face, they said. Stay out of the penalty box, they added. And hope for the best?
That last one is perhaps the most realistic approach to shutting down the Washington Capitals sniper. You can’t stop Ovechkin. You just try to limit his chances. Even then, good luck.
Ovechkin, who scored a goal and set up the game-winner by Joel Ward with 1.3 seconds remaining in the third period, showed just how dangerous he could be in a 2-1 win against the Rangers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal Thursday.
“I don’t think it’s about sending a message,” said Ovechkin, who has three goals and seven points in eight playoff games. “Everybody knows it’s going to be a long series. It’s going to be a battle.”
This was vintage Ovechkin. He threw bodychecks, intercepted pucks, fired pucks from all different angles. He was a headache for the Rangers defence every time he stepped on the ice.
With less than two minutes remaining in the first period, Ovechkin scored on a long-range rocket to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead. With the game tied — Jepser Fast beat Caps’ goalie Braden Holtby at 15:21 of the third — and seemingly headed for overtime, the Washington captain then fed Ward in front of the net for a buzzer beater that stunned a sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd.
“I didn’t know how much time was left, to be honest,” said Ward. “I was just screaming. He made an unbelievable pass across his body — he was behind the net practically — and I just whacked it and it went in. We beat the clock.”
“That was an important goal for us mentally,” said Ovechkin, who finished the game with six shots. “When we play our game, it’s hard to beat us.”
The Capitals, who bullied the Rangers with a strong physical game, might be difficult for the Rangers to beat. When Ovechkin is active in all three zones, stopping him is practically impossible.
“He was good today,” Caps’ centreman Nicklas Backstrom said of Ovechkin, “He had a lot of puck, a lot of chances. I mean, he’s always good when he shoots that puck.”
The Capitals were on the power play when Ovechkin carried the puck down the left side of the ice with speed and — after defenceman Dan Boyle gave him too much space — beat a helpless Henrik Lundqvist with a laser of a shot that no one saw until it hit the back of the net and bounced out.
But it was not the goal that had people talking. It was the taunt he shouted in the direction of the Rangers goaltender about 30 seconds afterwards. “All series, baby!” Ovechkin could be heard saying on the broadcast as he skated past Lundqvist. “All series!”
It was a bold comment. Then again, when you score a league-leading 53 goals in the regular season — 11 more than New York’s Rick Nash, who finished second in the race for the Rocket Richard Trophy — you can afford to be cocky.
“He’s a rare talent in this league,” said Capitals head coach Barry Trotz, comparing Ovechkin to Mark Messier.
“He’s a guy that really wants to win. He’s won really every award that you can win individually and I think he’s at a really good time in his career because he’s done everything individually and now he wants to do something team-wise.
“For him to grow as a leader, that was my mandate with him.”
This is no longer the same Ovechkin that was criticized for floating around the ice and cherry picking for easy goals. Trotz, who asked Ovechkin to do certain things without the puck, has helped shape him into a more complete player.
Ovechkin might not ever get nominated for a Selke Trophy, but he is not the defensive liability that he might have been in past years.
He’s finally bought in. Which means the Rangers have their hands full.