Washington Capitals fans could be forgiven if they were having nightmarish flashbacks Friday night.
There were the Capitals throwing puck after puck after puck after…you get it…on net, dominating the game territorially. Yet they were down two goals because Jaroslav Halak was blocking everything that reached his net while his teammates were blocking everything else. It was reminiscent of the 2010 playoffs, when the heavily favored Capitals had their season ended by Halak and the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens despite shot-attempt dominance.
There are still five games to go in this best-of-seven series, but the resiliency and steadiness showed by the Capitals in their 4-3 win in Game 2 over the Islanders should give those perennially disappointed Capitals fans a reason to feel good about the next five games and beyond in this postseason.