There were questions coming into game five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series between the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens on which of the two goalies should start for the Habs. Following a string of disappointing results for Carey Price in net in Montreal, head coach Jacques Martin decided to replace him with Jaroslav Halak, who had started the first two games of the series.

The decision and the coach's confidence inspired Halak into a nearly perfect performance against a high-octane Capitals offense, and kept his Canadiens alive for at least one more game, winning by a final score of 2-1. The result dropped the Capitals to just one game clear in the series at 3-2, and forced a game six at Montreal’s Bell Centre.

Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau made his disappointment at his side’s inability to close out the series early at home crystal clear after the game.

“Of course, we let it slip away tonight, what do you think?” said Boudreau, “We have a game five in our building, and we play like crap in the first ten minutes and the game’s over… Our power play is part of the reason, but the other reason is that we just aren’t getting 20 guys playing; we’re getting maybe 13 or 14, rather than everyone coming to play...

Down by a goal at the start of the third period in Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens, the Washington Capitals exploded onto the ice to take their positions at the faceoff circle. The crowd is screaming, the Verizon Center is shaking, and Alex Ovechkin, who drifts in to watch the puck slowly drop from the referee’s hand and then be batted away by the stick of Nick Backstrom, is focused and determined. His team, his time, everything he dreams for, is on the line yet again. So what do you do if you’re Alex Ovechkin...

Before their opening series with the Montreal Canadiens kicked off last Thursday, the Washington Capitals were the heavy favorites to knock off their eighth seeded opponent in four, perhaps five games. Yet after an unimpressive opener in which they surrendered their home ice advantage to the Canadiens in an overtime loss, critics as well as the Capitals’ head coach, were calling for change. Since falling to an early 0-1 deficit, the Washington Capitals have responded with a victory in overtime at home – a thriller at home in which Nicklas Backstrom scored just 31 seconds in the extra session to pull the Capitals and the Canadiens even at one game apiece; a decisive 5-1 victory in Montreal where Carey Price replaced Canadiens...

Only one game after Capitals’ Head Coach Bruce Boudreau called out his best players for failing to be just that – his best players – and with the danger of falling to a two game deficit to the eighth seeded Montreal Canadiens, the Capitals led by Nick Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin authored an exciting, yet tense, 6-5 overtime victory Saturday night to bring this opening playoff series level at one game apiece. The series will now head to Montreal, where the Caps will look to gain...