NHL playoffs 2013: Capitals and Senators win

The two teams played opportunistic hockey against each other, waiting for the other to make a mistake, resulting in low-scoring, low shot totals, blocked shots and a tight seven-game series in which all but one game were decided by a single goal. The two teams played a similar defensive style, and didn’t offer a whole lot of offense in the series.

Thursday night in Washington -- exactly one year after a triple-overtime contest in Game 3 that was held in the same building between these two clubs -- the Capitals and Rangers proved to be willing to play a much more offensive -- and entertaining -- game this time around, combining for 66 shots, compared to just 32 in the Game 1 opener between the two at Madison Square Garden.

In the West, the St. Louis Blues got the game-winning goal in the final minute of their game against the Los Angeles Kings to take a 2-0 series lead, and the Red Wings surrendered a three-goal lead only to finally win the game in overtime, 5-4.

Let’s go to the GIFs!

It should not have required such an escape. The Ducks tried to hand the game to Detroit by allowing goals at the beginning of each regulation period. The Red Wings twice had three-goal leads in this game. But the Ducks woke up in time to make this interesting.

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It was an impressive comeback for the Ducks, especially after they shot themselves in the (webbed?) foot by giving up an early goal in all three periods. The Wings twice had three-goal leads in this one, but the Ducks never looked deflated.

Watch, and admire:

After some stretching and skating, though, Elliott looked to be okay, and remained in the net.

That shot might have changed direction a bit, but it still looked like one that Quick needed to stop. It was Jackman’s first career playoff goal.

Trying to kill the Wings power play, Winnik lost his stick and was powerless to help as the Wings passed the puck back and forth, back and forth. On the rear angle replay (see below), his confusion is visible as he drifts back into the play, inching closer to the net, hoping to be able to do something, ANYTHING.

He didn’t come up with any ideas until after Franzen had scored. That idea? Might as well knock Franzen to the ice, of course:

The St. Louis Blues have struggled on the power play since scoring their first goal of the series with the man advantage. They haven’t scored a goal on their last seven power-play chances, including two opportunities in the second period of Game 2.

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Safe to say his players heeded his message to start Game 2.

If that shot was fortuitous, the Red Wings’ 2-0 lead at the first intermission is not.

The Capitals actually had a great first period, registering the first nine shots of the game. It was in the eighth minute before they allowed the Rangers a shot on Braden Holtby, who would be needed to make 35 saves over the next 52 minutes.

Oates’ reaction the penalty foretold the doom that resulted:

Anze Kopitar picked up the secondary assist on the goal.

Brown took a two-minute penalty for tripping on this play, but St. Louis couldn’t convert on the power play.

Anderson, considered by many to be a Vezina-favorite early in the season before missing time with an injury, stopped 48 of Montreal’s 50 shots on the night. He kept the Canadiens off the board until they had over 30 shots, midway through the game. Montreal finally managed to put two past him in the second to take the lead heading into the third period, but Anderson was perfect for the remainder of the night.

Silfverberg was as surprised as anyone that his shot went in:

After being badly outshot in the first period, the Rangers turned the shot table and outshot the Capitals 16-9 in the second period. Unfortunately for them, that did not translate into extending their lead. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Eight minutes later, things got worse for the Rangers in a hurry.

Brendan Gallagher would get another one later for the Canadiens to give them the lead.

The story of the period, aside from the offensive pressure from Montreal, was the brutal and bloody injury suffered by Lars Eller. Eric Gryba was given a game misconduct on the play, so both teams are playing down a man.

WARNING: There is quite a bit of blood in the images in this article.

First, the hit:

They’re known for rocking the red, but tonight they’re trying to rock the bell. Cowbell, that is.

Which, well, it isn’t exactly going over well with even some Caps fans:

It was Karlsson’s third career playoff goal and his first goal since returning from the Achilles injury that caused him to miss much of the stretch run in the regular season.

The period ended with the Senators leading by one, but the Canadiens are leading in shots, 14-12.

Sweet playoff beard, too:

Here’s the suspension video and explanation from the NHL Department of Player Safety:

Ference is a top-four defenseman for the Bruins, so his suspension will require some adjustments to their roster. He played nearly 20 minutes in Game 1, recording three shots, two hits and two blocked shots. This is his second career suspension.

When are we going to call a spade and spade and start labeling Teemu Selanne a witch?

The man is 42 years old and still has a shot that was quick enough to beat Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard to win Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals between his Anaheim Ducks and the Detroit Red Wings. It was Selanne’s 42nd career playoff goal, and his 18th career power play goal in the playoffs. It was also Anaheim’s second goal with a man advantage of the game. That and an empty netter gave the Ducks a 3-1 victory over a Detroit team that a lot of people are putting the potential upset label on.

Staal stated it was going to be difficult to sit out a playoff game. However, he was able to practice with the team on Thursday and felt comfortable while doing so. He explained that he has seen all situations in practice and is attempting to regain his confidence. Staal’s main concern is being a positive contributor for the team. Noting how successful the defense corps has been of late, Staal doesn’t want to compromise their production by returning prematurely.

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Following a comprehensive turnaround, the club enters the quarterfinal round still being questioned --albeit by a familiar quandary-- of whether success in the regular season will translate to postseason glory.

With expectations tempered but still present, the Rangers will attempt to repeat their success in last year’s semifinal victory over the Capitals.

It’s difficult to say that the Los Angeles Kings necessarily deserved to lose Game 1 of their Western Conference Quarterfinal series with the St. Louis Blues. You could argue that, after about 10 minutes of Blues domination, the Kings made it a fairly even game. One that resulted in a Justin Williams game-tying goal with 32 seconds left.

That said, no one could have predicted the way they did lose, on a Jonathan Quick giveaway to Alex Steen behind the net. Steen was far and away the best skater on the ice in Game 1, and he was rewarded for his forecheck, and for no King being within 10 yards of him. It was the second time Quick has been victimized by his lack of puck-handling skills: a similar played also earned Zach Parise a goal during Game 5 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final.

Ward was expected to return for Game 1, as head coach Adam Oates stated earlier in the week that chances of the forward playing were good. Oates made it seem like the final decision would fall on Ward’s comfort level.

In 39 games this season, Ward recorded 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) while averaging 15:07 of ice time per game, including time on the penalty kill (1:15 average) and power play (1:55 average).

While things became complicated towards the end of the year, the team managed to hang around in the playoff picture to complete an astounding run at the second season.

Entering the postseason on a two-game winning streak, Les Habitants will attempt to reestablish their early season form in hopes of completing an extended playoff run.

Over the course of the regular season, it was often stated the Western Conference was more competitive than its Eastern Conference counterpart.

Tuesday night’s slate of playoff games did nothing to dissuade that line of thinking.