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| Holtby was again stellar for the Caps, making 44 saves. (US Presswire) |
WASHINGTON -- In the postseason it's never about how you win, just that you won. At this time of year there are no such things as ugly goals, the same holds true for the scores. The uglier they are sometimes means the better they are.
Washington's 2-1 Game 4 win on home ice to even the series with the Boston Bruins at two games apiece? It definitely wasn't a charmer. The Capitals weren't only outshot by the Bruins, they were more than doubled in the shot department. The final tally was 45-21 in favor of the Bruins. Yet it was Washington that was victorious.
This is what Capitals hockey has been working toward for some time. Dale Hunter's M.O. since he took over for Bruce Boudreau has been defense first. He preached all season not about the volume of shots but about quality. At times it led to the Caps over-passing. But that hockey was good enough to get Washington to this point, even with the defending champions.
Under Hunter's watch the Capitals have been very good at holding leads. That's why it has been seen as ugly. Look at the third period on Wednesday for example. The Capitals only took three shots for the entire period. That's because they were busy at the other end keeping it clean in front of goaltender Braden Holtby.
"The guys are committed," Hunter said referencing his team's defensive effort, particularly in blocking shots. "That pucks hurts, especially when you have a guy like Chara who shoots it over 100 miles per hour. Everyone is down blocking shots. They have a lot of character in that room and they care about winning and losing."
With nearly eight minutes to go in the game the Bruins had racked up 45 shots. As the clock hit zero and horn sounded, the Bruins had racked up 45 shots. Even playing a conservative game against a team that was coming in waves, nothing got through to Holtby in the final minutes.
Compare those 45 shots to the 44 blocked shots the Caps had. Yes, 44 more attempts were stopped before they even reached Holtby. That's Hunter hockey, what he's been preaching. Jay Beagle led with five blocks. Even Alex Ovechkin got in on the block party, stopping three.
It wasn't just about the blocks though for the Washington defense. It was just as much, if not more, about keeping the Bruins away from the crease, something the Caps didn't do well in Game 3.
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"That was the reason why we didn't win tonight," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "When you shoot 45 shots on net and you only come out of there with a goal, obviously there's a lot of loose pucks around the net that they cleared and we didn't get to. The net-front presence has to be better.
"It's not just screening, but also finding those loose pucks, they were finding them better than we are. There's probably not a good enough commitment in that area right now, so we're going to be struggling to score goals."
To help keep the crease clean and the Bruins in line as far as post-whistle scrums go, the Capitals reinserted John Erskine into the lineup, his first game in two months. The game remained calm in front of the goalie and the shenanigans were down.
"It's nice to have a guy like Erskine back in the lineup, he hasn't played for a while and he comes with that physical edge," Holtby said. "So when guys are coming around the net they aren't messing around with Ersky there."
That brings us to the one thing about the Capitals that was beautiful (other than Alexander Semin's game-winning goal ... it was a reminder how much talent he has on his stick) by any game's standard: Holtby.
A couple of seasons ago the Capitals were on the wrong end of a relatively unknown goaltender stealing a series. This time it's happening for them instead of against them, a pretty nice change of pace.
"Holts was great. I don't recall a whole lot of second chances," Caps forward Brooks Laich said. "When you have a goaltender who smothers everything thrown his way it's very calming for the rest of the team. The shots were a little lopsided but I thought a lot of them were from outside.
"If we give up a shot we know Holts is going to cover it. And if he does give up a rebound, which we didn't see many tonight, our guys are going to clear it. When you have a goaltender who's on top of his game it really, really settles a team down. He was a leader for us tonight."
It was the third time in four games that Holtby only gave up one goal in the game. Remember, this is against the Bruins that we're talking about, the team that was tied for second in the league in scoring this season. They know how to light the lamp.
At one point in the second period the Bruins had 25 shots. The game was 26 minutes old at that point. Some of the saves were more routine, some of them flashy with the glove and others just sound positioning and instincts. It was another candidate for the game of his career. Or so you'd think.
"I think because of the stage, because it was in the playoffs it was a good game," Holtby said. "I think I might have had one that was better back in atom or pee-wee."
These aren't the same Capitals that you're used to. They aren't interested in playing end-to-end, high-scoring hockey. They are more content to win it with defense. And now they are getting the goaltending that hasn't always been there either.
It's been the story since Hunter took over, they do just enough to get the job done. They did just enough to get into the playoffs, eventually taking the seventh position. They are doing just enough to hang with the champs, forcing the series to go at least six games.
It might not be pretty, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And this time of year any win is gorgeous.
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