If you've followed the Capitals for very long, you're familiar with the sense of dread that can well up whenever a playoff game goes into overtime. This dread has been known by many names over the years — Pat LaFontaine, Petr Nedved, Martin St. Louis, Ray Ferraro. All of them have broken the Caps' hearts in OT (sometimes in quadruple OT), and there are plenty more where they came from.
Mike Knuble is about as dependable a guy as there is in the Capitals' locker room. He consistently scores 20 goals a season, cleans up in front and provides a veteran voice for a young team.
Every play and decision this time of year can turn the tide of a game or even a series. Capitals veteran Mike Knuble even said Game 3 against the Rangers on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden was a "coin flip."
Just one week ago, the New York Rangers anxiously waited through a long Saturday to find out if they would get into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Capitals can't wipe out decades of playoff pain all at once. They have to do it one game at a time. The math is pretty simple: Four wins get you to the next round; 16 get you the Stanley Cup.
Take nothing away from Michal Neuvirth, who shined in his Stanley Cup playoff debut against the Rangers in Game 1. But his Capitals teammates kept more than half of New York's shots from reaching him.
Michal Neuvirth had a tough task set before him for his NHL playoff debut, facing across the ice from one of the league's best netminders in Rangers veteran Henrik Lundqvist.
Josh Hamilton had a feeling his mad dash home was a mistake.
There's something Mike Knuble, the Capitals blue-collar right wing, has done even better than Wayne Gretzky. Bet you cant guess what it is. Well hold that thought for a moment, though, and just marvel at his mere presence on the ice Wednesday night in the playoff opener against the Rangers.
