Caps Make Most Of Chances To Down Habs-Caps 5, Habs 1

The Washington Capitals capitalized on their opportunities to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 at the Bell Centre. The Habs carried the play through the 1st period, outshooting the Caps 10-7 and killing off a pair of Washington power plays. The 2nd started the same way and an early Canadiens man advantage appeared to give the Canadiens a great opportunity to get the games opening goal. But the Capitals scored short handed to go up 1-0 followed by another 2 goals to push the lead to 3. This signalled the end of the night for Habs starter Jaroslav Halak who allowed 3 goals on 13 shots. Carey Price came in to mop up and allowed a pair of goals on 23 shots. Tomas Plekanec scored the Canadiens lone goal to make it 4-1 early in the 3rd, but that's as close as they would get. Semyon Varlamov was the difference in this one, ending the night with 26 saves including several key ones in the opening frame. The Habs power play went 1 for 5 on the night while the Caps were held scoreless in 7 attempts. Some other thoughts from a tough one:

>Glen Metropolit returned to the lineup for the Canadiens relagating Sergei Kostitsyn to the press box. He played just 5:37 while linemate Mathieu Darche played only 2:22.

>Sorry to sound like a homer, but the officiating was terrible again. When Pierre Maguire questions 4 calls/non calls that went against the Canadiens, there are issues.

>Halak can't really be faulted on the Caps goals, but to win in the playoffs your goalies needs to make some of those saves. Varlamov did just that and allowed the Caps to escape the 1st before putting their chances away in the 2nd. Now let the discussions begin as to who will be in net on Wednesday for Montreal.

Sometimes games like this happen. Puck luck was on the Caps side tonight and the Canadiens couldn't get a bounce. I thought the 1st was maybe the best period the Canadiens had played in these playoffs, and the 2nd really wasn't that bad other than the score. They need to find away to put this one behind them and knot the series up at 2 heading back to Washington. The Silver Wolf Whiskey Hab of the Game goes to Hal Gill. Made some fantastic plays on the PK and was solid in his own end. Consideration also given to Plekanec and Cammalleri. Game 4 goes Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.