If you said to me before this first round playoff series against the 7th seeded Rangers that the 2nd seeded Caps would have given up seven goals after four games, I'd have been busy trying to buy tickets to round two to talk to you.
Well, the numbers don't lie. The Caps have outscored the Rangers 8-7 and outshot them 149-99.
Not so fast on round two tickets though. The New York Rangers, not the Washington Capitals are up 3 games to 1 in the series.
I really thought I have seen it all following the Caps and their mis-adventures at playoff time. From 3 games to 1 series leads blown to multiple overtime losses, this team has lost every possible way in April.
Tonight Alex Ovechkin hits a post late in the game that would have tied the score at 2-2. The Caps also had a late power play and as the game came down to the last minute, they pulled their goalie for the extra skater to try to get the tying goal. Lot's of pressure on Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist but no goal.
So the Caps come home Friday night for game five trying to avoid elimination. I'll be there.
Why? I don't even know how to answer that. My heart just gets ripped out by this team year after year and I keep coming back for more. I estimate over the years I've maybe lost ten years of my life following this team in April.
But this Caps fan, who sat through 8-67-5 in 1974-75 as a thirteen year old kid, has a long way to go to catch the Chicago Cubs and their fan base. The Cubs haven't been to the World Series since 1945 and they last won one in 1908. Maybe that's why I keep going back. If those folks can keep coming out, I can too.
Down 3 games to 1, the Caps have come back once in their history (1988 vs Philadelphia). The 4th win is the hardest to get. All you have to do is ask members of the 1987, 1992 and 1995 Capitals about that. Each team blew a 3 games to 1 advantage.
Don't Stop Believin' as the song says.
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