Washington Capitals

Capitals Better Team for Fourth Straight Game: Trust the Process
May 4, 2017, 9:57 AM ET [149 Comments]
James Tanner
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Say whatever you want about results and how only the score matters.

The Penguins are getting lucky to an unbelievable degree.

Which is why, if you've got some spare money, you should take the odds and bet on a Capitals comeback. I mean, at this point it's unlikely to happen, but you'll at least get crazy value on your money.

For the fourth straight game, the NHL's best team played like the NHL's best team and for the third time in those four games, came away frustrated.



Marc-Andre Fleury is a probably a nice guy, and it was pretty funny that he taped over Matt Niskanen's name on his helmet (where he has listed all the Penguin's Cup winners, one presumes), but give me a break with this guy.

He doesn't have a starter's job in the NHL because he's a below-average starting goalie. And he's channeling the spirit of Dominick Hasek - possibly through the dark arts - in order to defeat the heroic Capitals, who certainly deserve better.

Seven Penalties for the Caps? That last one? I don't want to be the blame the ref guy, and honestly, I'm not - but that ref needs some blame. Last series, I wrote about the Capitals while cheering for the Leafs.

My favorite NHL teams, in order: Toronto, Edmonton, Arizona, Calgary. I am an impartial, objective observer here and I am telling you: the Capitals deserve better.

The worst part is that people are not looking at the play - they're only looking at the result and lazily equating it to years of supposed choking. Choking. What a joke. I remember when Jaroslav Halak saved 197 shots and Alex Semin hit 14 goal posts in a game seven to eliminate the Caps.

I remember when the Penguins won last year - despite being outplayed heavily in multiple games, including one specifically ridiculous one where the Capitals played one of the most dominating games to ever end up in a loss.

Sure, collectively, it looks bad. But honestly, the Capitals seem somewhat cursed. Certainly, if you outshoot your opponent by 50 shots over four games you deserve a better result than 1-3.



And that doesn't even count attempted shots.

Last night, the Capitals controlled an incredible 67% of the shots - meaning the entire Penguins team performed at about a Colton Orr level. It was exactly the kind of performance you'd expect from a team missing three of their four best players, and for the Caps, exactly what you'd expect a desperate team to do.

But you gotta Trust the Process.

Capitals in seven.

Bet on it.