In game two it was his last minute goal to force overtime. In game three it once again was a tremendous effort by the Washington Capitals Captain Alexander Ovechkin to give his team a chance.
In the first minute of the second period, trailing 1-0 after the first period and down 2-0 in the series Ovechkin made a great read in the neutral zone and took off. Demonstrating his blazing speed by beating the Tampa defense down the ice he not only almost scored on a near breakaway but also followed his shot and set up veteran Mike Knuble’s game tying goal.
Often criticized for being irresponsible in the defensive end and for relying on old offensive tactics, which defenses have “figured out” how to stop, it was once again clear how much passion Ovechkin plays the game with. Ovechkin was clearly leading his team the only way he knew how: punishing defenders with bone crushing hits on his forechecks and sacrificing his body by blocking shots and going to the front of the net for rebounds.
Even Washington’s second goal, a blast from the point by sophomore defenseman John Carlson, was set up by Ovechkin’s line setting the tone in the offensive zone. However, hockey is a team game and one player cannot determine an outcome by himself. With Ovechkin and his line mates watching from the bench, Tampa Bay Captain Vincent Lecavalier evened the score after a long possession in the offensive zone where the Capitals squandered several attempts to clear the zone.
An often overused term in sports is when an athlete “puts a team on his back,” however; in game three of the series, that’s exactly what Alex Ovechkin attempted to do.
Finally able to get on the ice with a man advantage, Ovechkin once again demonstrated his world class speed by getting in behind the defense and earning another Capitals power play on what very possibly should have been a penalty shot when he was hooked from behind by Brett Clark.
On the ensuing power play the Capitals earned a two-man advantage when Adam Hall hooked Capitals forward Brooks Laich from behind. To no surprise it was once again Ovechkin creeping in from the point to snap a rebound over sprawling goaltender Dwayne Roloson to put the Capitals ahead.
However, sometimes lightning can strike, and it did so twice in less than one minute. With 14:31 left in the third period, Tampa Bay forward Ryan Malone crashed the net and put in his second goal of the playoffs to put the Lightning up 4-3. The shift in momentum seemed to rattle the Capitals who continued their power play struggles and let Tampa carry on pestering goaltender Michael Neuvirth with shot after shot.
With one minute remaining Tampa made a poor decision when they iced the puck allowing Capital’s Coach Bruce Boudreau to call a time out and give his players a short rest. With the empty net and everything to play for the Capitals failed to generate any threatening scoring chances and once again allowed the Tampa Bay Lighting to walk away with a victory.
Despite a phenomenal effort by Ovechkin, who finished with a game high goal and an assist, the Capitals played with little intensity and seemingly minimal effort, allowing the Tampa Bay Lighting to take a commanding three game lead in the series.
