For the perceived lack of excitement and hype in the weeks leading in, the Capitals 3-2 last minute victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Winter Classic felt really special for the team and its fans. Washington defeated the best team in the NHL this season in regards to Chicago. They stood toe-to-toe with a club that's won two of the last four NHL championships. All of the hockey world, many in the D.C. Metro area, and other casual sports fans watched the Capitals play well in a heavily-publicized game.
Whether in the playoffs or nationally televised regular season contests, the Capitals usually perform at their worst. Today, they played their best.
Alexander Ovechkin was a beast on the ice. He was scoring goals, hitting opponents, hitting goalposts with scorching shots narrowing missing the goal, blocking shots, etc...
Braden Holtby was a brick wall in goal. Holtby wouldn't let the Blackhawks break down his fortress. He stopped several great Chicago shot attempts from getting past him. Holtby appears to be playing like he did late in the 2012 season when the Caps made it to game 7 of the playoffs 2nd round.
Brooks Orpik was a warrior on defense. Orpik played today's game even though he severely injured his knee on Monday. He hit any Chicago player who moved. He intimated the Blackhawks.
Speaking of Blackhawks, Troy Brouwer used to play for them in 2010 and scored the winning goal against them today. Brouwer did something simple but yet complicated in a frenzied environment. He skated to the front of the net, watch where the puck was going, skated as fast as he could to it, and shot the puck on goal as fast that Chicago couldn't react. This all happened in the final twenty seconds of regulation play.
As a team, the Capitals fought through a lot of mental adversity during the game. Previously, this had not been a trademark of Capitals Hockey. They jumped of the Blackhawks by a score of 2-0 on Eric Fehr and Ovechkin goals in the first period. Then, Nicklas Backstrom took a questionable holding penalty while on an offensive attack. As he moved past Chicago's Jonathan Toews, Backstrom put his arm over top of Toews arm for leverage. It's a common maneuver in hockey but was ruled to be a penalty. Patrick Sharp scored seven seconds later on Chicago's power play. Early in the second period, defenseman John Carlson's backhand clearing pass hit a rut in the boards and stopped leading to a Brandon Saad goal to tie the game. Later in the second, they had to play three skaters compared to Chicago's five due to penalties. The Capitals could've packed up and left mentally. However, they stayed focused and did not allow any more goals.
In the midst of that sequence, the Blackhawks appeared to commit a couple of penalties which weren't called. Andrew Shaw tripped and took down John Carlson which caused Carlson's stick to lift upward connecting with Shaw's face. During the 5-on-3 power play, a Chicago player held Brooks Orpik's stick not allowing Orpik to clear the puck away.
Through two periods, the Blackhawks had five man-advantage power plays compared to the Capitals one. The Capitals did get a power play in the middle of the third period but didn't score. Late in the third with around three minutes left, Andrew Shaw knocked a Capitals player without possession of the puck. Shaw was not penalized. Seconds later, Shaw was hit up against the boards by Matt Niskanen. The hit was not jarring, a little from behind but mostly from the side. Niskanen was called for boarding.
Again, the Caps could've called it quits but played defense until Chicago received a penalty. Jonathan Toews was called for hooking. His stick was in poor position where referees look for players using their sticks to hold back opponents. TV replays showed Toews didn't use his stick to stop the Capitals player at all. It seemed to be a make-up call for the Niskanen called penalty and perhaps previous Chicago fouls not called. Whatever it was, the Caps scored with five skaters to the Blackhawks four with 13 seconds left.
The Capitals showed themselves, their fans, other team's fans, and hockey/general sports journalists, that they're a different team. They are physically and, most importantly, mentally stronger than previous seasons.
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