At 1:30am I was falling asleep watching the game on the internet here in London, but I stayed awake just long enough to see Alex Ovechkin score a late 2nd period goal to cut the Caps' deficit to 2. At this point, I was in a quandary about whether to stay up to watch the 3rd period. As an avid Caps fan since the age of 12, I've been through more than a lifetime's share of playoff heartbreak at the hands of the Penguins, Rangers, Flyers, etc. The worst thing is the emotional rollercoaster that inevitably precedes the final flame-out; the Caps always make it seem like they're going to win, but then they don't, in spectacular fashion.
After losing Game One and going down 2-0 in the first eight minutes of last night's game, that familiar feeling of despair and disgust had taken over; I was ready to tune out and throw another season down the drain. But this season was supposed to be different - the Caps had steamrolled their way to the NHL's best record by far. I decided to stay up (partly because Anette was still wide awake writing her paper) and was thrilled when two more goals tied the game at 4. Then, of course, came the unthinkable (that always happens to the Caps) - Montreal scored with five minutes to go in the game. I cursed myself for so foolishly having allowed hope to creep in again.
But there was a different twist to the Caps' storyline last night: young John Carlson snapped a wrist shot by Habs' goalie Halak with 1:21 to go, and Swedish star Nicklas Backstrom won it after just 31 seconds of overtime, completing a memorable hat-trick. The series is now tied 1-1, and I'm certainly not getting my hopes up, but maybe I won't shave off my playoff beard just yet.
