A very lame attempt at humor. I apologize.
After watching Game Three of the Pens' second round matchup with the Caps, I have to admit the Penguins were by far the better team last night. They carried the play throughout the game, with the difference maker being Evgeni Malkin, who finally decided to show up, albeit two games later than expected. The difference maker for the entire series, however, isn't the NHL's poster boys, #8 and #87, but #40 for the Capitals, Simeon Varlamov. Without "Varly" standing on his head, the Pens could easily be up 2-1 or even 3-0.
This shows you all you need to know about the Capitals' post-game celebratory activities.Going into the playoffs, many pundits were afraid to pick the Caps because of their lack of goaltending. Jose Theodore, a one-time NHL MVP, lately is known more for this and this instead of this. After Jose shit the bed in the first game of the Caps' opening round matchup against the Rangers, Coach Bruce Boudreau put down the doughnuts long enough to announce a goalie change. Enter sim-yon vahr-la-mov. Most people would think that turning to a rookie goaltender who doesn't speak English in the pressure-packed environment of the playoffs would be a gigantic mistake. Think again. Varlamov has been unfazed by the intensity of NHL playoff hockey. The man has the tools and the potential, he's extremely athletic and large, and was rumored to be a trading chip in a proposed deal for Chris Pronger at this year's deadline. Perhaps Varlamov also benefits from being oblivious to what playoff hockey is all about. When preparing for his playoff debut against the Rangers, Varlamov asked his coaches for a scouting report on the Rangers' shootout lineup. He didn't even know that the NHL eliminates the shootouts in overtime during the playoffs! It's been a combination of this innocence and his immense physical abilities that have allowed the Caps to thwart the Pens thus far in the series, not the all-offense, all the time mindset of Ovechkin. The Pens need to continue the intensity and persistence they have shown throughout the series and hope that Varlamov finally cracks under the pressure.
BREAKING NEWS...
My fantasy season is officially over.
My fantasy season is officially over.
I wear those kind of glasses all the time. Seriously though, Varlamov is a beast. Last night at the end of regulation he faced 34 shots to Fleury's 18. The goals he let up weren't even his fault. All of them were deflected by his own people. As well as The Caps have been playing with him in net, it will be difficult for them to win a Cup with Brian Dennehy as their coach.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah.....Your fantasy team is Fucked!
ReplyDeleteActually they werent deflected by anyone, 1 went off Varly's left arm and in the other 2 were pretty straight forward which marks the Pens first good goals vs V w/out having to poke it through the 5 hole and well sheer luck.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget how horrible The Flower played, I mean the Caps put what..20 shots on goal...but if you took notice they just flat out missed the net about 20 times and Fleury was just moving incredibly slow and was late on everyone of those failed attempts otherwise it's 15-2 Caps = massacre.
So keep the pressure on Ov and keep taking Fedorov out.
Letangs goal was absolutely deflected in off of a Caps player...the name escapes me now.
ReplyDeleteShaone Morrisonn is who it deflected off of. Check out mondesishouse for the video
ReplyDeleteOk so they weren't poking the puck in or reviewing kicked in goals
ReplyDelete