Washington Capitals: How They Can Pull Off The Comeback

The Washington Capitals will need to win three straight games to keep their Stanley Cup dreams alive. Here’s how they can do it.

Six straight times during the 2015-16 regular season, the Washington Capitals won three or more consecutive games. They will have to make it seven if they want to avoid another brutal playoff disappointment.

While it certainly seems like all hope is lost as the Capitals find themselves on the brink of elimination, down 3-1 to their rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there is still reason to believe in this team.

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This difference between these two teams is not accurately depicted by the current 3-1 deficit that the Washington Capitals face. These are two very even teams, and the fact that each and every game of this series thus far has been a tightly contested one-goal game is worth noting.

Just as easily as the past four games could have gone either way, it will likely be the case with the next three if the series makes it that far. Assuming that is the case, I’m going to look at a few things that need to happen for the Washington Capitals to do the unexpected.

A Bounce Or Two

The Penguins have been on the receiving end of some pretty fortunate goals in this series, while the Washington Capitals have had to work hard to beat goaltender Matt Murray, who has been absolutely outstanding.

I’m not going to go as far as to say the Penguins have been lucky, but they have certainly received a few fortunate bounces to beat Braden Holtby. However, a bounce to the left here or there for either team could have played a major difference in this series. Such is hockey, so there isn’t much you can do about that.

The Penguins have been receiving these types of bounces because they are doing what is required to get them, for the most part. That means crashing the net – something that the Capitals have declined to do for whatever reason all series. We have seen it time and time again, good things happen when you send players to the net.

The Washington Capitals have shown that Murray has to be beaten high, but a way around that is to get a couple of wacky deflections.

One Game At A Time

Think back just over a week ago when the Washington Capitals held a 3-1 series lead over the Flyers. What was your thought process? I’m willing to bet it went something like this.

“Well, if the Flyers win game five, they get home ice advantage in game six and then all bets are off after that.”

Though the circumstances are slightly different, it is the same concept, The Capitals will enjoy the benefit of home ice for at least two of the next three games if they force seven games.

The Washington Capitals have outplayed the Penguins over the past two games, but the results haven’t shown that. If they can continue to play well and win a big game at home on Saturday, the pressure will be on the Penguins to win game six at home or else they will have to come back to Washington for a deciding game seven.

Held by Holtby

Braden Holtby has played very well in this series, but he hasn’t been able to completely steal a game for his team in this series. He has allowed three or more goals in all but one game so far, after not allowing more than two goals once in six games against the Flyers.

There is no comparison between the offenses of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but Holtby’s talent is undeniable. He is an elite goaltender, and he has the ability to hold any offense down to a goal or less for a stretch of a few games. If the Capitals can’t find their best offense, Holtby will be a huge reason why they can continue to be successful.

As with last night’s overtime defeat, the defense has left Holtby out to dry on numerous occasions. If he finds his A-game over the next two games, this series will end up as close as it truly is.

Top-Line Takeover

The Washington Capitals appeared to reunite the TKO line in practice on Friday, putting Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie together. This is how the Caps started the year, so they will surely be looking to mine into some of their early-season luck.

Ovechkin has been fine in this series, but he is going to need to lead by example for his team to climb back into this series. The same goes for Nicklas Backstrom, who has been extremely quiet for the most part in the series.

Putting the dynamic Kuznetsov with Ovechkin and Oshie, and moving Backstrom with Justin Williams and presumably Andre Burakovsky would bring a little bit more balance to the lineup, and a different look. Regardless of how the lines are assembled, the top players are going to need to perform for the Capitals to do the unthinkable and come back in this series.’

Next: The Capitals Find Themselves On Brink Of Elimination

Truth be told, the Capitals won’t have to do that much different than what we have seen from them over the past couple games. They are just going to need a few things to go their way that haven’t been to this point.