Ovechkin halfway home on prediction
Alex Ovechkin’s assertion on Tuesday morning at Nationwide Arena that the Washington Capitals would win Games 3 and 4 against the Blue Jackets and return home with the bestof-seven NHL playoff series tied was bold, but not outrageous.
Blue Jackets defenseman Ian Cole can attest to that.
Cole’s former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, won the first two games in Washington in a playoff series against the Capitals last season but still needed seven games to advance.
Although the Capitals didn’t win both Games 3 and 4 on the road, they won two of the three games in Pittsburgh. And in 2009, the Capitals lost the first two at home and overcame a 3-1 series deficit to beat the John Tortorellacoached New York Rangers in seven.
Although history isn’t on Washington’s side — according to Hockey Reference, only 19 times in 103 attempts has an NHL team lost the first two Blue Jackets left wing Thomas Vanek tries to redirect a puck toward Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby in the first period of Game 3.
games at home and gone on to win a playoff series — the Capitals could still keep the Blue Jackets from their first series win in franchise history.
“They have future Hall of Famers galore on that team. We’ve got a ton of respect for them as a team and what they can do,” Cole said.
“To put ourselves in the best spot, we need to realize how dangerous they are. We
have an idea with the first two games, and we know in this room we can play better and put ourselves in a better spot. Certainly by taking less penalties, and doing a better job against their power play, which is one of the best in the league and has been for a decade now.”
Said defenseman Seth Jones, “It’s not over. They are fully capable of coming in and winning games. We
understand that with the offensive firepower they have. We’re not taking anything lightly here. We’re not going to lose a game and see what happens the next. We’re going to try to come out and make a statement right away in front of our fans here.”
The Blue Jackets were trying to match the number of playoff wins (three) from their previous three appearances combined, but Cole said the
team can’t focus on the significance of its achievements.
“Whatever history we create is a side effect of winning hockey games,” he said.
“The more we concentrate on trying to win each and every individual game, rather than what we’re doing in terms of franchise history or relevancy in the league, we will put ourselves in a better spot.”
Washington goaltender Braden Holtby received his first start of the series after replacing Philipp Grubauer in goal to start the third period of Game 2. Holtby allowed one goal on eight shots in the Jackets’ 5-4 overtime win on Sunday.
Entering Tuesday’s game, Holtby was 14-4-2 with a 2.62 goals-against average in 21 games all-time against the Jackets.
His .932 career save percentage in the playoffs ranked second in NHL history among goalies who have played at least 50 games.
Jakub Vrana replaced injured left wing Andre Burakovsky on the second line. Burakovsky didn’t make the trip because of an upper-body injury suffered on a hit by Boone Jenner in Game 2.
Jenner, who had a team-high five hits in the game, said of being physical, “It’s something that’s ramped up in the playoffs, and something I can bring, drag guys in and ignite (the team) a little bit that way.”