2011 NHL playoffs: Fortune doesn’t favor Capitals in Game 1 vs. Lightning

One reason playoff hockey is at times almost insanely exciting is the sport’s combination of high skill and utterly essential luck. Everybody recognizes the former. Few want to talk about the latter for fear of offending the gods.

But you want to start any postseason series with the fortunes smiling. You don’t want to lead 2-1 in your own building, with the breaks going your way, then see a fluke flick of the puck from behind the net bounce off the skate of your own defenseman and skip, in a fraction of an instant, past your stunned rookie goalie to tie the score.

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The Washington Capitals discuss their 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first game of their second round playoff series.

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Track every shot and goal of every Capitals playoff game.

Then, with momentum switched, you don’t want to give up a power-play goal just three minutes later and never score again, finally losing, 4-2, after a final empty-net goal.

Scott Hannan was the Washington Capitals defenseman in question, Michal Neuvirth the unfortunate innocent bystander in goal and Steve Downie the Tampa Bay Lighting forward who got credit for the second-period goal because you have to give it to somebody.

“I thought we were in control of the game until the Downie goal,” said Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau after losing Game 1 of this second-round series. “In the end, you get what you deserve.”

“There’s always the element of luck in there,” said Lightning Coach Guy Boucher, speaking specifically of the Bolts’ ability to stop the Caps’ power play. “They could have scored some [more] goals. We’re not kidding ourselves.”

There were multiple reasons for the Capitals’ flat start on Friday night at Verizon Center. The Lightning, despite coming off a seven-game series against Pittsburgh, came out with more energy and grabbed a quick 1-0 lead, taking the first seven shots of the game before Washington even looked fully engaged in the battle.

Some Caps alibied. “They were rolling right into it after their seven-game series. Sometimes it’s almost better that way,” said one player. “After that week off, we were a little rusty,” said another. Though Brooks Laich slapped those excuses into the trash where they belonged, saying, “Anybody will take a rest in the playoffs.”

Also, once the Caps fell behind, 3-2, Tampa Bay’s trapping style of defense, so different from the aggressiveness of the New York Rangers, frustrated the Capitals, though they knew exactly what was coming. “That’s exactly how we expected them to play,” said the Caps’ Eric Fehr.

But, with so much ice yet to cover in this series, perhaps it’s a good time to glance at the mysteries of playoff fortune. Last week, in Madison Square Garden against the Rangers, the Caps won in double overtime in Game 4 to swing the entire series their way. Dozens of times in overtime there was chaos in front of both goalies. But the Caps got the final fortuitous bounce that put the puck on Jason Chimera’s stick two feet in front of the New York net with nothing in front of him but victory. The Rangers deflated.

This time, the first such blow has fallen Tampa Bay’s way. But the Capitals know that, if such things are to happen, better early than late. “We had a lot of pucks laying in the crease,” said Hannan. “A lot of bounces could have gone our way, too.”